Game of Darkness
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Written for the original series. Carl Kolchak is pitted against a kind of evil even he is having trouble comprehending: the psychopathic and sadistic Yami Marik. And before it's over, the case may end up trying Kolchak's heart and soul as never before.
1. A Robbery and Two Murders

**Kolchak: The Night Stalker/Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Game of Darkness**

**By Lucky_Ladybug**

**Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! I've been toying with an idea where Kolchak is pitted against one of the most ruthless and sadistic paranormal villains ever—the psychopathic Yami Marik from the anime and manga **_**Yu-Gi-Oh!**_** Hence, this story was born. As per the Moonstone Comics, the time period is the present day. But unlike them, Kolchak and company are still in Chicago, right where they should be!**

The street was dark and deserted. A chill autumn breeze rolled down its center, carrying several dead leaves with it. Overhead, a streetlamp flickered, threatening to plunge the road into a deeper night.

Carl Kolchak stumbled away from the direct scene, gripping his tape recorder in a still-shaking hand. His heart was racing as he backed into an old telephone pole. His clothes were rumpled and torn, and his hat and hair awry, but he barely noticed. As he pressed the Record button he gazed out at the lonely street with paranoid eyes. There was no sign of anything out there now.

"Tonight I've experienced a kind of evil that I had no idea even existed," he said, releasing a shuddering breath. "There's no mention of it in books on mythology or legends or fairytales. From all that I've gathered from my attempts at researching its origins, there is only one of its kind. But one is just too many."

His knuckles went white as he clutched the small machine all the tighter. "Thanks to this . . . this _thing,_ several people are dead, several more are badly hurt, and several others' minds have been severely damaged." His voice darkened to a level foreign to all those who knew him. "They might never recover.

"It all started one week ago, on September 30th.

xxxx

"_The Art Institute of Chicago, located in Grant Park, is one of the most prolific art museums in the United States. At one million square feet, it is also the second largest. Only the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City surpasses it in size._

"_Its many halls are filled with a wide variety of art, from Classic to Impressionist to Contemporary, as well as artifacts from important time periods. Rome, Greece, Egypt—they're all represented here._

"_On September 30th, at 12:05 A.M., the museum suffered a robbery. The strange thing was, out of everything valuable the thief could have taken, the only thing he was interested in was an old Egyptian staff._

"_I take that back. There was something else strange about that robbery, something far more unexplainable and disturbing._

"_The police were at the scene in minutes. I shouldn't have been awake to arrive at the scene myself, but I was, thanks to a losing battle with insomnia. What I found at the museum woke me up for the rest of the night."_

Kolchak parked his yellow convertible outside the museum and hurried towards the steps, where the police and other reporters were already gathering. He pushed his way through the crowd and to the front doors, where a uniformed officer was writing on a small pad of paper.

"Excuse me?" he called over the cacophony of voices. "What happened here?"

The officer looked up and groaned. "Kolchak, go away. Please." He looked back at the pad. "It's just a simple robbery, nothing that would interest you. There's nothing to sensationalize."

"Sensationalize?" Kolchak echoed in dismayed disbelief. "_Sensationalize?_ I'm not a cheap tabloid reporter. If you can even call what they do 'reporting'," he muttered as an aside. Louder he continued, "I'm just trying to get to the truth."

"Uh huh. You know, that's what they say too," was the reply.

"Who?" Kolchak frowned.

"The tabloid reporters," the officer said, not glancing up even once.

"They wouldn't know the truth if it walked up and smacked them in the face," Kolchak declared. "Now about this robbery . . ."

The policeman let out a huge sigh. "Okay, Kolchak. I'll tell you about the robbery, if that will make you happy and go away." He flipped the pad shut and stepped closer to the front doors. Kolchak followed. "Someone slipped past the alarm system, broke a case in the Egyptian exhibit, and took what was inside."

"And what _was_ inside?" Kolchak asked.

"Just an old staff," the officer shrugged. "The security guards probably surprised him then or he would've taken more."

"What do you mean they 'probably' surprised him?" Kolchak watched the other man carefully for his reaction. Something strange was going on, that much was clear.

The policeman had had enough. "I mean exactly what I said. Look, Kolchak, we're really very busy tonight." He took hold of Kolchak's arm, trying to steer him around. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep?"

"A few minutes ago I would have loved to do just that," Kolchak quipped, "but now, far more fascinating things than sheep are prancing through my mind."

As the officer prodded, he refused to move. "Hey, wait a minute! Why can't you ask the security guards if they 'probably' surprised the burglar?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

Another policeman appeared in front of him as he broke through the crowd. "He didn't say we couldn't, Kolchak," he said. "Now, we'll be happy to escort you to your car." He grabbed Kolchak's other arm.

With two people pushing and pulling to get him to move, Kolchak was finally forced to. "Were the security guards hurt?" he demanded, glancing back and forth between the two law enforcement officers.

"Do you see an ambulance around?" one of the officers replied, his voice far too smooth for comfort.

"No, actually I don't," Kolchak said.

But before he could inquire further the crowd crowded around them. In all the commotion Kolchak pulled free, ducking behind a news van. The other reporters hailed the police officers, calling questions about the case. They jostled and shoved as they pushed forward, waving their hands for attention.

Kolchak held on to his camera and tape recorder as he weaved through the throng. At last he broke free and ducked around the side of the building, breathing a sigh of relief. Maybe he could slip through a side door and find out what was happening in there. Whatever it was, it was a lot more than what he was being told—as usual.

Unfortunately for him, all doors seemed to be guarded by one or more officers. His frown deepened. This heavy display of security told him what he already suspected—this was more than a simple robbery. And could it even be called a "simple" robbery anyway, when all the thief wanted was an old staff and had gone to so much trouble to get it?

He hurried to the policeman watching the nearest door. "Officer! Officer, thank goodness I've found you!" he exclaimed. "There's a riot going on at the front of the building!"

The officer tensed. "A riot?" he repeated. He frowned, distrustful. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, of course. Of course," Kolchak returned. "Can't you hear that wild crowd?" He gave a mock shudder. "They sound furious enough to break down the doors if they want to."

"Or if you want them to," the policeman said dryly. "Sorry, Kolchak, I'm not leaving my post."

"Come on, you don't really think the thief is going to come back to the scene of the crime to get anything else, do you?" Kolchak said as he gestured at the door. "That maybe he'll want a few Egyptian vases or those containers that the ancient Egyptians put people's guts in after they died?"

"I have no idea," was the flat, unimpressed reply. "You're wasting your time, Kolchak. Go home."

It certainly was a waste of time. Kolchak moved to walk away, then stopped. "Or maybe what you're really worried about isn't him coming back to steal anything," he said. "Maybe you're afraid of another incident like what happened to those guards."

The policeman stiffened, caught off-guard by the remark. "Who told you about the guards?" he demanded.

Now Kolchak was triumphant. The officer had all but admitted something was horribly wrong. His stunned and then urgent expression said it loud and clear.

"Oh, it's been floating around," Kolchak said, casually stepping closer to the door as he spoke. "There must be a security leak somewhere down the line."

"No one's heard anything from me!" the other man declared in indignation.

"Of course not, Officer, of course not," Kolchak said soothingly. While the sentry was distracted he tried to reach around to test the door handle. His hand was still en route when the police officer spoke again.

"I never once said anything to anyone about how those guards were killed!"

Kolchak froze, his hand still in position. The guards had been _killed?_ And for an old _staff?_ What was the dark explanation for this?

Recovering before it could look suspicious he said, "They're also saying the guards shot each other by accident while trying to apprehend the robber."

The policeman's mouth dropped open. "What?" he cried in disbelief. "How did something like that get strung around when they were both found lying on the floor, their faces the very epitome of terror?"

Kolchak hurried to scratch this incoming information on his notepad. "Oh, you know how rumors start, Officer," he said. "One sentence is twisted or one word is left out and suddenly everything has a new meaning."

"And I suppose false things are being spread about the staff too," the policeman ranted, his face turning reddish-purple with anger.

"Oh yes," Kolchak nodded in complete, deadpan seriousness. "Yes, they're saying all kinds of things about the staff."

"All those stories about it having hidden power to torment the mind into insanity are just that—stories!" the officer cried. "That sort of thing can't really happen!"

Kolchak's eyes widened. Supposing they were not just stories. Could the staff have been used to kill the guards somehow, maybe through heart attacks brought on by something they had experienced? What had they looked so terrified about?

"Officer Barnes!"

Both the policeman and Kolchak jumped a mile. Captain Quill was coming towards them in full dress uniform, looking very displeased.

"What have you been telling this reporter, Barnes?" he demanded.

"Nothing, sir!" Barnes exclaimed. "He was telling me about the rumors going around about the case already. It's outrageous!"

"Rumors? There _are_ no rumors!" Quill turned to glare at Kolchak. "You're up to your usual tricks, I see. Kolchak, you're not welcome on museum property. I'll have you escorted back to your car."

Kolchak was frustrated. "I beg pardon, Captain, but there's something going on here that people need to know about!" he cried. "Those two guards were found dead looking like they'd seen nightmares come to life. And that staff is supposed to have the capacity to torture people's minds into insanity. What kind of nut broke in and took it? Did he kill the guards with it? The public needs to be warned about this!"

Quill was unimpressed. "The public would think the same thing about you that I'm thinking right now," he said. "It wouldn't do you any good to print garbage like that."

"I'm not trying to do _me_ any good," Kolchak retorted. "Look, Captain, if the story goes out and even one person believes that there's a maniac loose with a possibly mind-altering staff . . ."

". . . Then I poor pity that person," Quill said. "Barnes, get him out of here."

Barnes gave an awkward nod. "Y-Yes, Captain," he stammered. He grabbed Kolchak by the arm, leading him away from the building. "Let's go."

Kolchak had no choice but to move. Behind him, the museum stood as firm and unyielding as Captain Quill, keeping its secrets.

Barnes refused to leave Kolchak alone until they reached the yellow Mustang. "Don't try to get in again," he warned then, slowly backing away.

Kolchak threw up his hands in surrender. "I won't, I won't," he said.

He watched the scene at the museum with narrowed eyes. The police were going inside now, shutting and presumably locking the doors behind them. No matter how the reporters lingered around the doors and called in, they were ignored. For the time being, learning anything looked hopeless.

Maybe tomorrow he could hit the morgue and see if Gordy would help him again.

A low chuckle somewhere behind him sent a chill down his spine. He whirled, his heart pounding. "Who's there?" he demanded.

There was no answer.

xxxx

"_September 30th, 3:07 A.M._

"_Gladys Martin was walking home after a late-night stop at her local grocery store. She never imagined what would be lurking in the shadows, waiting for her, as she turned onto her block._

"_The police weren't able to imagine, either. Whatever Gladys saw that night, it left her in a state of total and complete shock. She's still in a coma at Chicago General Hospital."_

xxxx

Tony Vincenzo was not in a good mood. As soon as he had arrived in his office later that morning, he had unfortunately discovered a message from the police department. Carl had been poking around again, at the site of a museum robbery in the night, and the police were not amused—even less so because he had been piecing together a wild story from the information he had received on the case.

Tony slammed his hands on his desk. "What am I going to do with him?" he ranted to no one in particular. "I should fire him. I really should. I don't know why I don't."

"Because I'm the best reporter you have and you know it."

Tony looked up with a start. Speak of the devil—Kolchak was standing in the open doorway of his office, coat in hand. Tony got up and went around his desk, glaring at him.

"Kolchak, what were you doing last night?" he demanded.

"It's funny you should ask, Tony," Kolchak said. "I was just coming to talk to you about that."

"The police came to tell me first," Tony retorted, his lips pulled in a thin, humorless smile. "Do you know what they said?"

"No, but I can guess." Kolchak walked around Tony and into the office, glancing at the note on the desk. "They're probably complaining that I was obstructing an investigation and requesting you to keep a tight leash on me. Am I correct?"

"Kolchak, they said you were spreading some story about an Egyptian staff that made the two security guards go crazy and drop dead!" Tony yelled.

Kolchak held up a hand. "Not true, Tony. Not true. It was Officer Barnes who told me about the guards and the staff. I just started trying to put the pieces together."

"And you found several missing!" Tony shot back.

"There's more than several missing!" Kolchak exclaimed. "Tony, I don't know what's going on. All I know is that the police are trying to cover it up."

Tony nodded. "Uh huh. They're always trying to cover something up, aren't they, Carl?"

"They are!" Kolchak turned away in frustration, storming to the door. There he stopped, looking back. "Tony, if you could see even a small portion of what I've seen these last few years, you'd know I'm not crazy."

"Kolchak, what I heard on that tape of yours, that otherworldly screeching, was horrifying enough to last me a lifetime," Tony said.

"And you don't know what that was," Kolchak said. "You said it yourself, you couldn't say for sure that it was just some prank!"

"All I know is that whatever it was, it landed you in the hospital after almost fatally beaning you in the head!" Tony cried, his voice still rising. "That wasn't any prank. You're always getting yourself in these situations! I don't know how you've managed to stay alive all this time, but your luck's going to run out sooner or later!"

Kolchak stared at him. "Tony, I don't believe it," he declared. "You're worried about me. You're getting downright emotional over the possibility that one of these days I might not come back."

"I'm not worried and I'm not getting emotional!" Tony ranted. "I just want to know why getting at this 'truth' you're always talking about is worth risking your life!"

Kolchak had not known what to say when Tony had asked him the same thing at the hospital. He did not have any better idea how to reply now. He turned away, starting to pull his coat back on.

"Speaking of getting at the truth, I have somewhere I need to be right now," he said. "Maybe we can pick up this conversation over lunch."

Tony followed him to the door. "It's not going to get picked up, at lunch or anywhere else," he retorted. "You just don't want to talk about it. Oh, you're always willing to tell me all about the latest nonsense you're looking into, but never what makes it so vitally important. And frankly, Kolchak, I'm getting tired of it."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Tony," Kolchak said. "It really can't be helped." He hurried to the door leading out of INS.

Tony glared after him. "I'll never understand him," he said to the room. "Never." He went back in his office, shutting the door after him.


	2. Ishizu Ishtar

**Notes: I'm using a bit of my explanation from **_**Taming the Darkness**_** as to how Yami Marik has endured after the end of Battle City.**

**Chapter Two**

"_September 30th, 11:37 A.M._

"_Gordy was too busy to be able to chat. Another poor soul's body had been found several hours earlier and an autopsy had to be performed. But, he told me, after the initial examination of the body he felt sure that he would find the same thing he had found with the guards. They had both died from heart attacks._

"_Armed with this new information, I decided to try my luck with the museum again. Maybe I could get hold of someone involved with the Egyptian department who could tell me more about this mysterious and potentially deadly staff. I didn't even know what it was called. None of the newspapers had listed its name._

"_I was about to find out more, however, than I imagined possible, especially after I'd been brushed off—to put it mildly—last night."_

The Art Institute of Chicago did not look any the worse for wear when Kolchak pulled up and parked. It seemed to be open for business as usual. He exited the car, studying the building and grounds as he went up the walk and the stairs. The door opened with ease, admitting him into the lobby.

An older woman sitting at the front desk glanced up. "Hello," she greeted. "Can I help you?"

"Maybe you can," Kolchak said. He took out his identification, flashing it briefly at her. "Carl Kolchak, INS. I'm looking for someone familiar with Egyptian myths and lore."

The receptionist nodded. "You're looking for someone who knows about the staff that was stolen," she deduced.

"Well . . . yes, that would be nice," Kolchak said, somewhat in hesitant surprise. Would she help him or brush him off?

She leaned over the desk. "I was told to expect you today," she said. "You want Miss Ishizu Ishtar. If you go to the directory you can find your way to the Egyptian exhibits. She said she would be waiting for you there."

Now things were moving too fast and too confusing. "Excuse me, did you say she's waiting for me?" Kolchak said in disbelief. "How . . . how did she know I was coming?"

The woman shrugged. "With Miss Ishtar, you don't question things. You just do what she wants."

". . . I see," Kolchak said, although he did not see at all. He started to back up, glancing towards the directory. "Thank you. I'll go . . . find her."

The map was clear and precise. Before long he had managed to locate the Egyptian exhibits and was wandering amid the aisles, admittedly curious. Idly he snapped pictures of vases, sculptures, and even a mummy case—which he stayed as far away from as possible. One reanimated, escaping mummy was all he cared to deal with in one lifetime.

"Mr. Kolchak. Welcome."

He jumped a mile at the unexpected voice. As he whirled to look, a young Egyptian woman in an off-white dress calmly looked back.

"Oh!" he said as he recovered. "Miss Ishtar, I presume?"

She nodded. "I am overseeing the exhibit on Egyptian Games of Darkness."

Kolchak's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me, 'Games of Darkness'?" he repeated. "What are they?" He gave a slight chuckle. "I don't remember reading about them in the history books."

Ishizu gestured towards a tablet depicting two men standing facing each other. At the side of each was a vicious beast. "Legend has it that the ancient Egyptians dabbled in magic that they should have left alone," she explained. "They battled each other for power and strength, using creatures of the shadows."

"Oh really?" Kolchak studied the tablet for a moment, then brought up his camera.

"Feel free to take as many pictures as you want." Not waiting for him to finish, Ishizu walked ahead towards a broken case. "I believe this is what you have come to ask about?"

Kolchak took his picture and followed, quickly taking in the sight. "The broken case, yes," he said. He snapped a picture. "Miss Ishtar, can you tell me about the staff that was stolen?"

"It reportedly belonged to a magician in the court of a New Kingdom Pharaoh," Ishizu said. "It's been said to have mind-altering properties."

Kolchak frowned, turning to look at her. "What does that mean, exactly?" he queried. "Is there a secret compartment that contains some sort of ancient hallucinogen?"

"Not that I am aware of." Ishizu looked into his eyes, completely serious. "It is supposed to be a dark magic that taps into one's mind and brings their fears to life."

"Oh. Dark magic. Oh." Kolchak glanced back to the case. "Does it have any other potential value?"

"To an archaeologist, of course," Ishizu said. "But I would doubt that it was stolen for that reason. There are other artifacts here that are far more valuable, monetarily and historically."

Kolchak's stomach dropped. "Then . . . do you think it was taken because of this . . . other reason?" he asked.

"I am afraid so." Ishizu glanced upward. "All of the security cameras were damaged, so we have no video footage of the thief. But I have several ideas of whom it might have been." A sigh left her lips and she turned away. "After seeing the guards' bodies and hearing of those other people, I am increasingly afraid it may be an old enemy of mine."

"Of yours?" Kolchak stared, stunned. "Who would be your enemy?"

"It is a very long story, Mr. Kolchak. Long and tragic. I do not wish to discuss it here." She looked back to him. "Come to my office."

He followed, obedient, as she led him to the offices. She unlocked and opened her door, ushering him inside before entering and shutting the door after them. She turned the lock before crossing to her desk.

"Please, sit," she said, gesturing at several straight-backed chairs with red plush seats.

Kolchak complied, glancing around the office as he did. Despite a couple of boxes stacked in one corner, it was overall very neat and organized. Several Egyptian knick-knacks adorned a set of shelves on the wall to the left. The desktop mostly held a computer, a lamp, and several file folders, as well as a small, framed photograph that faced Ishizu.

"Miss Ishtar, can I ask you something a minute?" Kolchak asked.

She nodded. "Of course."

"How did you know I'd come here today?" Kolchak gave an awkward smile. "It almost seems like you can see into the future."

"Not anymore. But that's not a terrible loss." Without explaining that odd remark Ishizu went on, "I've heard a great deal about your work, Mr. Kolchak. The police had quite a lot to say about you last night. And in addition, I know about some of your investigations from other sources. After you were dismissed from this case, I had a feeling you would try again here today. If you had not come I would have contacted your place of employment and asked for you."

"You really did want to talk to me," Kolchak realized. "That's a change; when I come calling, most people are all too anxious to throw me out on my ear."

Ishizu smiled. "We are in the same boat, Mr. Kolchak," she said, sobering. "I knew that you were likely the only person who might believe the danger people are in as long as the staff is missing. Therefore, I wanted to speak with you about it."

She clasped her hands on the desk. "Mr. Kolchak . . ." She hesitated, mulling over how best to phrase what she wanted to say. "I am afraid that the being who stole the staff is a dark entity accidentally created several years ago by my younger brother."

Kolchak was not sure how to interpret this. "'Accidentally created'?" he repeated. "How do you mean, Miss Ishtar? Is he some sort of scientist?"

She shook her head. "No, he is not." She sighed. "He was . . . very troubled in his younger years. At age ten he created a second personality to help him cope with the turmoil and anger in his heart."

This was not at all what Kolchak had expected to hear. "He has a personality disorder?" he said, making notes.

"He _had_ a personality disorder, Mr. Kolchak. He overcame it."

Kolchak looked up at her. "I don't understand," he said. "If he overcame it, then what about what you just said about . . ."

"The second personality split off into its own entity," Ishizu interrupted. "It even tried to kill Marik in a Game of Darkness."

Kolchak nearly dropped his pencil. Now this was a bit much, even for him. "Did I hear you correctly just now?" he exclaimed. "Did you say that . . ."

"Yes, I did. I know it sounds unbelievable, but it is true." Ishizu looked steadily into his eyes. "At the end of that Game of Darkness the second personality was banished to a place known as the Shadow Realm. Over time he took from the evil nature of the realm to become more powerful. Since then he has emerged more than once to torment people we know, as well as our family."

"But what's the point?" Kolchak demanded. "What's his purpose?"

"His only purpose is to torture anyone he can," Ishizu said. "He says that all he wants is to kill everyone on Earth until he is the last person left."

"And your _brother_ created such a monstrosity?" Kolchak gasped.

"He feels horrible about it, Mr. Kolchak. He has been trying everything he can think of to destroy the creature for good. Unfortunately, so far we have only been able to temporarily ban his power."

"Oh, well that's just great." Kolchak stood, unable to stay sitting any longer in the face of this information. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Ishizu stood too. "The longer he has the staff, the more people are in danger," she said. "We have to find him and get it away from him."

"And how are we going to do that?" Kolchak cried. "What kinds of weaknesses does he . . . it have?"

"He cannot stand the light," Ishizu said. "But it will only weaken him if it's wielded by someone who believes in it."

Kolchak stared, bewildered again. "How do you believe—or disbelieve—in light? It's just _there._" He gestured to a small desk lamp. "Everyone can see that. There's nothing to believe! It's obvious it's there."

Ishizu's telephone rang before she could answer. "Excuse me," she said. "This might be important." She took up the receiver. "Hello?"

It did not take long for Kolchak to determine that it was not only an important call, but it would last for quite a while. After waiting a moment he gestured to the door. "I'll just . . . wait outside," he said. "Or I'll come back later."

Ishizu nodded, occupied with the call. With her free hand she passed a small card to him. Kolchak looked at it as he headed for the door. It had her name, as well as her email address and a cellphone number.

xxxx

It was a breath of fresh air to step out into the lobby. Kolchak stood there, gazing up at the bright lights overhead, as he thought over Ishizu's words.

If she was to be believed, what they were after was a supernatural being created from the dark feelings of a tortured boy. What did that mean, exactly? What was the creature like . . . besides wanting to kill everything in existence? And for the thing to be like that at all, what must the _boy_ be like? It was hard to know what was the most disturbing aspect of this case.

He shook his head wearily. "Tony's not going to be happy about this one," he said to himself. "I don't think that I am, either."

Ishizu had specifically wanted his help. What was it that she thought he could do? What was she talking about when she talked about believing in the light? And if her brother wanted to get rid of the wretch he had created, where was he right now? Why wasn't he here seeing about it?

He glanced back at the office. Through the window, he could see that Ishizu was still on the phone. He sighed, heading for the door. Maybe he would try calling her later. Right now he wanted to drive around town and try to process what she had told him.

xxxx

"_October 2nd, 9:02 P.M._

"_I still hadn't had any luck trying to catch the thing supposedly created by Ishizu Ishtar's brother. Worse yet, it was still on its (his?) psychopathic rampage. Two more people had been found badly injured—one in a coma and the other so hysterical he wasn't much help to either the police or to me. He soon found himself strapped in a hospital bed, doped up on tranquilizers and sedatives._

"_Tony, of course, was less than enthused about my work on the case. I hadn't dared to tell him what Ishizu had told me at the museum. That was partially because I was afraid he would immediately call the men in white coats to take me away. It was also partially because I was afraid I would encourage him to call them._

"_Even though I've dealt with many bizarre paranormal phenomena, this was a new one on me. With no existing research on the matter, I could only rely on Miss Ishtar's word that it was true. She certainly seemed an intelligent, sound woman. Nevertheless, I still doubted, even as I searched for whatever it was. I have to admit, I wondered if it was really her brother committing the crimes, not cured at all from his personality disorder._

"_I almost wonder if that would have been preferable to the truth."_

"Kolchak!"

Kolchak started, looking up from his computer. Tony had just stormed into the room, frustrated. Soon he had made his way to the desk at the far wall, glaring with expectance at the reporter.

"Kolchak, what are you doing?" he demanded.

Kolchak pushed his chair back, coming to a decision in the same moment. "I'll tell you, Tony," he said. "I'm looking up information on Ishizu Ishtar and her family—specifically, her younger brother."

"What in Heaven's name _for?_" Tony exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "If it was just something logical, like you wanting to date the woman, I would be relieved. But when do you ever have a logical reason for doing something? Never!"

"It just so happens that I have a very logical reason, Tony," Kolchak answered without missing a beat. "She has some involvement with the museum department that was the source of the robbery. You can't deny that, even if you don't want to believe that the stolen staff has magical properties."

He pointed at the screen. "According to this, she's worked for the Egyptian government. Currently she's more of a free-lancer, but she still does work for them from time to time. Mostly she works out of museums, making sure that the Egyptian artifacts are well taken care of when they're on display around the world."

"That's great, but I don't see how it helps us," Tony said. "Unless you think _she_ stole the staff."

"No, no, she didn't steal the staff. I'm sure of that." Kolchak scrolled through a webpage. "She's very concerned about getting it back."

"Because it's killing people with its evil magic. I know, I know." Tony leaned on the desk. "So what does her brother have to do with this, or dare I even ask?"

"He has everything to do with this." Kolchak pointed at a paragraph on the screen. "According to this, he used to play that one card game, Duel Monsters, professionally in tournaments. And after digging a bit more I found some old interviews with Ishizu Ishtar herself, where she talked about how Duel Monsters is heavily influenced by Egyptian legends and these games that the ancient Egyptians played for power. They were called Games of Darkness or Shadow Games! I saw a tablet in the museum depicting one of them."

Tony pushed himself away from the desk. "Well, that's very interesting and all, Carl, but what's the point? Are you going to say the staff was used by the Shadow Game Champion?"

"It might have been, for all I'd know," Kolchak retorted. "No, the point is that during a major tournament held by the Kaiba Corporation, a lot of strange things happened. People who played against Marik Ishtar ended up emotionally damaged. If they lost the game, they fell into comas or died. One person, a boy named Ryou Bakura, was even reported to have disappeared!"

"Oh, and you're trying to say that Marik caused all of that to happen because of the spooky, supernatural origins of this game they were playing," Tony said.

"I'm trying to say he caused it to happen because he had some kind of command over that ancient magic!" Kolchak said.

"And now he's doing it again, using the innocent people of Chicago as victims. Right?" Tony crossed his arms.

Kolchak let out a sigh. "Honestly, Tony, I don't know," he said. "I really don't. His sister told me some things in confidence that could mean he's the culprit. On the other hand, he may have been . . . indirectly responsible."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Tony exclaimed.

"It means that he may have created the thing that's attacking people," Kolchak said in frustration.

Tony stared at him with widening eyes, not fully comprehending. "'Created'? _Created?_ So now you think we're dealing with a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein and his monster?" he burst out.

"I don't know _what_ we're dealing with, Tony!" Kolchak shot back as he got to his feet. "It might be the likes of something neither of us can even imagine! Chicago might have fallen prey to the most bizarre and devilish attack possible!"

"There's a bedtime story no one will be telling," Tony said. "Kolchak, just walk away! You don't have any obligation to find out what's been going bump in the night! Why do you keep insisting on doing this to yourself? And to me, to the news service? We're the laughingstock of the nation because of the articles you keep trying to have printed about werewolves and vampires and witches and what have you!"

"People are getting hurt!" Kolchak yelled over him. "Some of them are dead! And the others aren't much better off. The police don't know what to do about it!"

"Oh, and you do?" Tony retorted.

"No!" Kolchak snapped. "I don't. But at least I'm going to try to find out, instead of sweeping it under the carpet and pretending that nothing out of the ordinary is going on when I know it is!" He grabbed his camera and his tape recorder from off the desk.

"Now where are you going?" Tony demanded in exasperation.

"I don't know that, either," Kolchak told him. "When I figure it out, I'll call you. Maybe." With that he stormed past, heading for the door.

"Kolchak!" Tony called after him, in vain. _"Kolchak!"_

He turned away, glowering at the computer screen. "Games of Darkness," he muttered. "What next? Tell me that. I always think I'm not going to be surprised again, but I always am. He manages to find things that trump the previous things, every time."

As he strode across the aisle, heading for his office, he was intercepted by Ron Updyke. "More trouble with Kolchak, Mr. Vincenzo?" the other reporter greeted.

Tony muttered something unintelligible as he went through the gate.

xxxx

"_October 2nd, 10:15 P.M._

"_I didn't know where I was going; just somewhere to get away from Vincenzo for a while. On a whim I decided to head to the museum, on the off chance that Ishizu Ishtar would be working late. If she wasn't, well, I could always try her cellphone. I needed to ask her some more questions about her brother."_

What looked like a dense purple fog in the middle of the road brought the yellow Mustang to a screeching halt. Kolchak leaped out of the car, staring in disbelief. What was this? Where had it come from? Certainly it did not look natural. He reached for his camera almost automatically, snapping a picture of the bizarre mass.

It began to clear as he stood watching. His eyes widened in shock. A body was sprawled in the street, motionless. Another form was on its feet, walking out of the fog and towards him. In a moment the thick clouds had dispersed enough that he could make out the stranger.

Kolchak gawked. The newcomer was Egyptian—or at least, he _looked_ Egyptian. Surprisingly, his hair was blond. More surprising still, it was raised in outrageous, thick spikes all over his head.

Whatever he had just done, he was pleased about it. A cruel, inhuman sneer split his features. Veins had popped out unattractively across his face. And despite all this, he appeared very young—certainly no older than his late teens.

Kolchak took a step back. There was no doubt about it—this was a sadistic madman. And from the staff in his hands, he was probably the one Kolchak had been looking for.

"What did you do to that man?" Kolchak demanded at last as he found his voice.

The thing shrugged. "The poor fool." The voice was deep and gravelly and mocking. "He played against me and lost. He should have known better than to think he would win." He gave a psychotic grin. "Now I'll feed his body to the shadows!"

"What?" Kolchak started to run forward. He had no idea what he could even do, but he had to try _something._ "Whatever you're talking about, you can't do it!"

"It's too late. There's nothing you can do to stop it." Even as the Egyptian spoke, the body behind him disappeared, swept into the remainder of the fog.

Kolchak ground to a horrified halt. For a moment he could only stare at the spot where the body had been, his heart racing in disbelief. Then he whirled to face the delighted being.

"How could you do that?" he cried. "Don't you have any heart at all?"

"I'm a creation of total darkness," the wretch sneered. "I don't have any decent emotions or desires."

"That's a poor excuse!" Kolchak shot back.

The supposed teen laughed. "I like your bold attitude," he said. "I don't want to destroy you just yet." He raised the staff and it started to glow.

Kolchak grabbed hold of the thing, wrenching it lengthwise even as he was unable to pull it from the murderer's grasp. "I guess I should thank you, but I'm just not in the mood," he said, his voice dark.

The thing jerked the staff up, cracking Kolchak on the forehead. He stumbled back, momentarily dazed. Sneering, the psychopath advanced. He reached out a hand and seized the sides of Kolchak's head, pressing the thumb and fingers against the temples.

Kolchak gasped in pain. It felt like his entire mind had just become an open book. He clawed in vain desperation at the hand. He had to get it away. Somehow he had to get it away. It was burning, _burning. . . ._

"So you're Carl Kolchak, the man Ishizu recruited to stop me," the being purred. He moved in closer, his grin widening and his eyes going bloodshot. "You can call me Dark Marik. Or Yami Marik; it's all the same to me."

The pain increased. Kolchak sank to his knees, his mind going blank.


	3. Upping the Ante

**Notes: Domino City is set in America, as per my usual _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ timeline.**

**Chapter Three**

"_October 3rd, 12:15 A.M._

"_Regaining consciousness is a strange feeling. At first it just feels like waking up from a regular sleep. But as you wake up more, confusion takes over. In my case, I wondered what I was doing lying on the cold asphalt in the middle of the road. I knew I hadn't decided to lie down and take a nap. And it didn't feel like I'd been run over by a car. What was left?"_

Kolchak groaned, rising up halfway and then sinking down again. Now the pain was coming back, as well as his memories. That thing, that Yami Marik or whatever his name was, had done something to him. His temples were still pounding.

"What happened?" he muttered. He rose to his hands and knees. He was completely alone. Why had he been spared? Yami Marik could have easily killed him then and there, for all the good Kolchak had been able to do. Surely Yami Marik had not knocked him out for a few laughs. There had to be more to it.

"Why did he suddenly know my name?" he remembered. He had felt like his mind had become an open book. What if that were true? Could the demon have read his mind? But how? And why?

He fumbled in his pocket for his phone. He had to call Ishizu and talk with her about this. He had been on his way to see her when that fog in the road had interrupted him. But she was probably not at the museum now, and he was not sure he felt like driving there at the moment.

At last he located his phone. Pulling it out, he flipped it open and squinted at the screen. _12:15 A.M._

"I was really out for that long?" he muttered.

Soon he produced the business card and tapped out the cell number. As it rang, he stumbled to his feet and over to the car. He leaned on the door, crossing one arm over his chest.

"Come on, answer," he willed.

At last there was a click. "Hello?"

Kolchak relaxed. "Miss Ishtar?"

"Yes?" Ishizu came to full attention. "Mr. Kolchak, is something wrong?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. I just met the thing responsible for all this." Kolchak opened the door and slumped into the driver's seat. With his free hand he rubbed at his forehead. "You forgot to warn me he has a knockout touch. Tell me, can he read minds?"

There was a sharp intake of breath. "Yes," Ishizu said. "I'm sorry, I had no idea he would try that on you. But I would have mentioned it earlier if my phone hadn't rang."

"Not saved by the bell after all," Kolchak said dryly. He straightened and leaned on the steering wheel, trying to force himself to become more alert. "Look, I wasn't able to do a thing to fight him off. When I tried, he just flat-out overwhelmed me. How am I supposed to stop him?"

"Where are you right now, Mr. Kolchak?" Ishizu asked.

"I don't know," Kolchak grimaced. "Some dark street on the way to the museum. There was a body on the ground, but this _thing_ said he was going to feed it to the shadows. Then it just disappeared."

Ishizu did not seem surprised. "You are fortunate he didn't do the same to you, Mr. Kolchak." There was a note of finality in her voice. "I will come meet you and we'll continue our discussion."

"Okay," Kolchak mumbled. He started to get out of the car again. "I'll find the street name."

xxxx

Tony was still at the INS building, waiting in his office. With impatience he glanced at the clock on the wall as it continued its incessant, unconcerned ticking. Disgusted, he shut the folder he had been going over, slamming his hand on top of it.

"It's after midnight," he said aloud to his office. "It's almost twelve-thirty and he isn't back yet."

"Does that bother you a great deal? I wonder why."

Tony started. "What the . . . who's here?" he demanded. The voice was unfamiliar. He rose from his chair, looking towards the door.

The figure in the main room was silhouetted in the dim light, but it was obvious that it was not anyone who was supposed to be there. The long cape and spiked hair sent a prick of anxiety into Tony's heart.

"I'm something that goes bump in the night." The stranger advanced into the room, flinging his cape behind him as it traveled too far over his right arm. He came to stand in front of Tony's desk, grinning in a highly unsettling way. "But you don't believe in such things, do you?"

In spite of himself, Tony was uneasy. If he were fully honest with himself, this person had brought a dark, cold feeling with him into the room. But . . . that had to be his imagination, didn't it? Such things just did not happen.

"Who are you?" he barked. "I don't know how you got in here, or why, but if you don't leave I'm going to call the police."

This the visitor found hilarious. He threw back his head, laughing raucously to the ceiling. "The police can never contain me!" he exclaimed. "They've tried before!" He looked back to Tony, his eyes wild. "I am Yami Marik. I am the darkness. No manmade device can conquer the darkness, only push it back for a time."

Tony swore under his breath. "You actually believe it," he gasped. "You think you're some sort of dark, underworld being." And something in his eyes—those bloodshot, unapologetic, crazed eyes—was doing a very good job of almost convincing Tony to believe it too.

Yet another part of his mind still stubbornly clung to the idea that it simply could _not_ be. He did not want to accept that such things were real, even after hearing the unearthly screams on Kolchak's tape. It was too horrifying.

"Before I'm done with you, you'll know it's true," the creature purred.

"Just what do you think you're going to do with me?" Tony retorted. One hand crept towards the telephone. If he could just pick it up and dial for help. . . .

With lightning-fast movement the intruder whipped out a long staff and smacked Tony's hand with it. The editor cried out in pain, jerking it back.

"I haven't fully planned it out yet," his new enemy said. "I want to savor it." He grinned psychotically, not improving his veined features at all.

"What's so great about doing something to me?" Tony stared at this strange thing. Surely he could easily overpower it, him, whatever. It had to be some kind of a prank. Maybe it was a joke Kolchak was playing on him. No, that was not likely. Kolchak never joked about the cases. No matter how weird they were, he was completely serious about them.

"My new enemy is your reporter." Yami Marik pointed the staff at Tony, who grabbed it and tried to wrench it to the side. Instead, Yami Marik jerked with superhuman strength and Tony was thrown to the floor. Before he could get up, Yami Marik was crouching in front of him. "I read his mind tonight."

"What?" Tony's eyes flashed. "What did you do to him? Is he hurt?"

"No. But he will be," Yami Marik proclaimed.

Tony seized him, thrusting him to the floor and holding him down. "Over my dead body," he snapped.

That only delighted Yami Marik further. "That's exactly what I want," he said. "Your dead body."

Suddenly the staff glowed with an eerie purple light. It blasted out, sending Tony flying backwards into his desk. A cry of pain tore from his lips as the desk toppled from the force of the energy, sprawling him across it and then to the floor.

Yami Marik knelt beside him in the mess and grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. "I learned some very interesting things while exploring his mind," he announced. "You're his friend." Tony's eyes widened. "And if I had to guess, I'd say you feel the same about him. Why else would you keep him on so long, giving him chance after chance, and stay late at the newspaper office waiting for him to come in to talk to him about his latest disastrous investigations?"

Tony stared at him, searching those cruel eyes for some indication of humanity. There was none. "It's none of your business either way," he retorted, trying to push him back.

Yami Marik held fast. "I made it my business. Through you," he vowed, "I'm going to break him."

xxxx

"_October 3rd, 12:45 A.M._

"_When Ishizu arrived she brought with her an icepack, which was most gratefully received. While I reclined in the driver's seat, applying the ice, she sat in the passenger seat and discussed her brother and this bizarre Mr. Hyde he had created."_

"My brother is currently in Domino City, Oregon," she said. "We have a home there, as well as one in Egypt. Over the past few years we have been dividing our time between Egypt and America."

Kolchak closed his eyes, resting against the back of the plush seat. "Didn't you tell him about his . . . second personality being at large again?" he asked.

"I haven't been able to get hold of him," Ishizu confessed. "There are some problems back there as well. He is involved with trying to stop them."

"Oh, well that's just great." Kolchak sat up straight, opening his eyes. "Hey, wait a minute. Did you say Domino City?"

Ishizu nodded. "Yes."

"That place is a hotbed for weird stuff," Kolchak said. "I was reading some articles about it."

"They have had their share of strange things," Ishizu agreed.

"That's putting it mildly," Kolchak scoffed. "Miss Ishtar, I was helpless against this madman, as I told you on the phone. You said that to defeat him I have to believe in the light. Exactly what did you mean by that? Do I just have to get a big flashlight and beam it in his face and _boom,_ he's destroyed?"

"It isn't enough merely to point lights at him, Mr. Kolchak," Ishizu said. "He is able to survive in the light. It's one's unshakable conviction that the light will overcome the darkness that gives the light the power to defeat him."

Kolchak frowned. "A conviction, Miss Ishtar? Pray tell, how does a conviction give that sort of physical power to anything?"

Ishizu leaned back, thinking on how to explain it. "In a way, it's the same principle that governs one's self-confidence," she said. "When you believe in yourself you have an intense motivation and you are able to accomplish feats that would otherwise not be possible for you."

"Yes, but we're talking about light," Kolchak said. "An intangible force. How would a conviction give power to something that doesn't even think for itself?"

Ishizu nodded. "Perhaps a better way to explain it would be that you must have faith," she said.

"Faith in the light," Kolchak mused. "Alright, I'll go with that. I guess it's not as weird and off-the-wall as some of the solutions I've heard for other menaces." He sobered. "But how are we going to find him before anyone else gets hurt?"

Ishizu sighed. "I don't know," she admitted. "There seems to be no pattern in his attacks. He's lashing out at random—security guards, an elderly woman, men passing on the street. . . . Anyone who sees him is at risk."

"Is that how he's always operated?" Kolchak wondered.

"Previously he's only attacked people in our circle, that we know of," Ishizu said. "Duelists—players of Duel Monsters—and their loved ones. However, that is likely because it was a closed environment. Everyone there was at risk. With the world at his doorstep now, he could potentially go anywhere at all. Most likely, he decided that Chicago was as good a place as any to try out the staff he stole."

"And with only two of us to patrol the streets," Kolchak lamented.

"Unless I can get in touch with Marik or Rishid, I am afraid so," Ishizu said. "As you well know, Mr. Kolchak, it does little good to try to convince the authorities here about anything supernatural."

That was certainly true, but Kolchak was not focused on that at the moment. He blinked. "Excuse me, 'Rishid'?"

"Yes." Ishizu stared into the distance. "He is my and Marik's adopted elder brother." She looked back to Kolchak. "When the second personality was part of Marik, Rishid was the only one able to hold him at bay."

"And I suppose that doesn't apply now," Kolchak said.

Ishizu shook her head. "No."

Kolchak sighed, fumbling to place the key in the ignition. "Well, then I guess we'd better drive around the city and see if any nuts are out."

"Are you sure you feel up to driving?" Ishizu asked in concern. She sat up straight, watching him.

"Oh sure," Kolchak said. "I've driven around feeling worse than this before." He glanced at her as he started the engine. "The headache does go away, doesn't it?"

"Within a few hours." Ishizu moved to exit the car. "We will take different sections of the city and search for him."

"That works," Kolchak said.

xxxx

"_October 3rd, 3:07 A.M._

"_Neither Ishizu nor I could find any trace of our psychotic nemesis. Apparently he wasn't out. Maybe he had gotten his fill of torment and had gone back to whatever part of this city he called home. At least, that was what we thought and hoped. We finally met up in front of the museum and decided to call it a night._

"_I don't know why it was, but I decided to drop by the INS offices before heading home. Maybe I wanted to see if I could get a headstart on getting my film developed, since so much of the time something goes wrong and it's taken or exposed without me getting to do a thing. And I was determined to prove the existence of this madman. The longer he roamed Chicago—or anywhere—the more danger everyone was in. If the public at least knew he was out there and what he was capable of, surely some of them would take stock in it. Maybe even Vincenzo._

"_I had no way of knowing that he had already been sorely and tragically convinced."_

Kolchak frowned as he approached the INS building. One of the double doors was ajar, opening into the dim corridor. He hurried up to it, pushing it open further. Someone had to be in here; the guard or the janitor certainly would not leave it open like this. And they surely would have noticed if it had happened recently.

. . . Unless something had happened to them.

Kolchak slipped inside, letting the door remain aside a crack. It was not really possible that Yami Marik had come here to hurt someone, was it? What would be the chances of that?

He stiffened as he looked to the inner doors leading to the INS offices. They were ajar too.

"My mind," he gasped under his breath. "That thing read my mind. He must know where I work." Maybe someone really was lying hurt somewhere in the building. Yami Marik would probably find that a grand joke, to go right to his enemy's territory and harm someone.

Kolchak hurried through the doors, at once taking in a sweep of the main room. Nothing looked out of place here. Maybe he was wrong. He could be completely overreacting. It was something to hope for that he was.

The door to Tony's office was standing wide. Did that mean anything? Maybe Yami Marik had decided to paw through the belongings of Kolchak's boss to see if he could learn any other juicy tidbits. Tony would have a fit.

Kolchak approached the room, peering inside. His jaw dropped. It was a calamity. None of the furniture was standing. Papers, folders, and assorted objects were everywhere. If tornadoes could strike indoors and leave the outer frame still standing, this was probably what it would look like.

The next sight made his heart skip a beat. Behind the toppled desk, half-hidden among the fallen papers, was a hand.

This was Tony's office. Would someone else have come in here so late? Sometimes Tony stayed late. Could it be . . .

Kolchak ran over, not bothering to be careful of the files he was stepping on. "Tony!" he called. _"Tony!"_

There was no response. And as he arrived behind the desk and dropped to his knees, it was instantly confirmed that his fears were true. It was Tony, not a janitor or a guard, lying motionless on the floor. Not that Kolchak would have wanted to find anyone here, but _Tony. . . ._

_If I hadn't left._ The thought ran through Kolchak's mind, unbidden and unwelcome. There was no time to think about that right now.

He seized his editor's shoulder. "Tony!" he cried. "Come on, wake up!"

Still nothing. Kolchak bent down, checking for breath. Tony was breathing . . . wasn't he? There was still a pulse, but it was weak. Shaking, Kolchak dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed 911.

"Hello?" he barked at the dispatcher. "Send an ambulance to the INS offices. A man has been badly hurt. . . . Yes, INS! Independent News Service. . . . No, I don't know what happened to him! He's unconscious and his pulse is weak. Hurry it up, will you?"

He hung up before the dispatcher had a chance to reply. Turning his attention back to Tony, he fumbled with the other man's tie, hoping to loosen it and make it easier for Tony to breathe. "Come on, Tony, hang in there," he muttered.

What had _happened?_ Had Tony been in the wrong place at the wrong time and Yami Marik had put him into the same kind of coma as he had done with some of his other victims?

A flash of red caught Kolchak's eye and he looked up with a start. Then he could only stop and stare in horrified disbelief. Written on the wall in what looked (and hopefully only _looked_) like blood, in dripping crimson letters, was a message.

_**I've decided to up the ante.**_

_**Catch me if you can, Carl Kolchak,**_

_**before everyone you know is dead.**_


	4. Mysteries Upon Mysteries

**Chapter Four**

"_October 3rd, 7:18 A.M._

"_I didn't get any sleep that night._

"_The police wanted to talk to me, but there wasn't much I could offer them that they would even believe. I told them that Tony had been targeted by the nut who had stolen the staff and that he had decided to go after Tony because I was trying to catch him. I left out all mentions of exactly what the being was, although I think I recall saying something about the staff's magical properties and the thief's s independent powers of mind reading. I'm surprised they let me go instead of dragging me down to headquarters. I suppose by now they're getting used to the kinds of things they'll hear from me and they didn't want to bother hearing more._

"_Once I was released from the third degree I followed the ambulance to the hospital and stayed there for hours, pacing, thinking, pacing some more, and wondering if I could have prevented the attack on Tony._

"_He had been hurt because of me. The little greeting card left for me by Yami Marik made that all too clear. And I couldn't stop thinking that if I hadn't left, if I hadn't run into Yami Marik on the street and ended up with my mind read like a cheap dime store novel, Tony would not be here in the hospital, nearly dead._

"_No one had been willing to tell me the score, but I could guess. I had heard the paramedics talking as they wheeled Tony inside on a gurney. They were surprised he was alive at all. And in his condition, it wasn't likely that he would wake up again._

"_For some time I was in shock. Generally speaking, people I know have never been targets for the monsters I run into—except for poor Jane Plumm, God rest her soul. But she was asking for trouble by interviewing people claiming to be Jack the Ripper._

"_Tony hadn't been asking for trouble at all. He had been minding his own business when Yami Marik had barged in and done . . . whatever it was he had done._

"_But it was because of my investigation that this had happened. **I** had been asking for trouble. Me, Carl Kolchak, investigative reporter of the bizarre and supernatural. I had wanted to stop the attacks before anyone else got hurt. Instead, I had succeeded in getting my editor and yes, my friend, slated as the next victim._

"_In this state of mind, I was not ready for Ishizu's quiet and calm nature when she arrived at the hospital, having heard of the assault from the morning paper."_

"Mr. Kolchak?"

Kolchak jerked to attention at the soft voice. Ishizu had entered the waiting room and had crossed it to stand in front of him, one hand over the other as she looked up with those enigmatic blue eyes.

"Mr. Kolchak, I am so sorry this happened," she said.

Something within him snapped. This was the last thing he needed now. Ishizu sounded too pat, too even, for his fraying nerves. Especially considering her role in this whole thing.

"Yeah? Well, it just might've _not_ happened if you'd warned me about the mind-reading!" he yelled, pointing his forefinger at her. "It was because of that, that your brother's _second personality_ found out who I am, and who Tony is, and decided to go play Shadow Games with him! It's because of that, that Tony is lying in some hospital bed and no one seems to think he's going to pull through!" Not stopping to take a breath he rushed on, "And _none of this_ would have happened if your brother hadn't created this abomination in the first place!"

"Mr. Kolchak." Now Ishizu's voice had gained an edge. "No one wishes that things had been different more than my brother."

"Well, that's a little hard to believe, Miss Ishtar," Kolchak said with an impatient gesture. "You see, for him to even invent such a being, he must have had the same feelings that it carries now. And I'm sorry, but I don't feel that amiable towards psychopathic madmen who go around killing innocent people because it gives them a kick!"

"There are two sides to every story, Mr. Kolchak," Ishizu said, still meeting his gaze with unwavering determination. "My brother is a kind, good person who was buried under years of sorrow and hatred. He has completely cast off the part of him that spawned Yami Marik."

"If I saw him here, ready and willing to get rid of this creature, I'd be more inclined to believe it," Kolchak countered.

"I still haven't been able to reach him," Ishizu said. Her eyes flickered, almost imperceptive in their cool mask. "I will be honest with you, Mr. Kolchak, I am afraid he may be hurt."

Something in her words, or perhaps her eyes, reached Kolchak's heart. He backed down, massaging his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm out of line."

Ishizu shook her head. "You are under a great deal of stress," she said. "I acknowledge that if I had handled this situation differently, we might not be standing here right now."

Kolchak gave a tired sigh. "No," he said. "No, it's as much my fault for looking into this in the first place. It's ironic—Tony was telling me that my luck wouldn't hold out. He was worried that something would happen to me. Instead, _he's_ the one who got it." He walked away from Ishizu, crossing back to the window. "It should have been me, not him."

Ishizu followed him. "It should not have been either of you!" she said.

Her voice was so firm and without room for argument that Kolchak turned back to face her. _"Why,_ Miss Ishtar?" he demanded. "What have I done on this case at all that's worth anything? You know this character. You could have defeated him without my help."

"He hasn't been defeated," Ishizu said. "I haven't been able to capture him."

"Neither have I," Kolchak retorted. "He walked in right under my nose, nearly killed Vincenzo, and left me a nice little message written in blood, taunting me to catch him!"

"You have managed to stop the other beasts that are preying on people," Ishizu said. "We _will_ be able to find and defeat my brother's second personality once again."

"And how many people are going to be hurt or dead before that happens?" Kolchak muttered, uncharacteristically bitter.

"Countless numbers, if we do nothing," Ishizu responded.

Kolchak clenched a fist. "I'm not giving up, Miss Ishtar," he said. "He won't get away with his twisted plans. He's already threatened to kill everyone I know. He probably plans to target everyone else in the office—Miss Emily, Ron Updyke—and Heaven knows whom else."

He stared out at the bleak, overcast Chicago morning. As the initial shock over the assault faded, the angrier he became. The _gall_ of that wretch, to go around attacking people without provocation, and to even come to him with a sick proposition to stop this madness before everyone he knew was dead! Well, he would stop it, alright. He was absolutely not going to _stand _for this. Yami Marik would regret ever messing with him.

"Carl Kolchak?"

He whirled. One of the doctors was standing near the nurse's station, looking towards him. He made his way over, hoping against hope for something encouraging. "Is there any news?" he asked.

"You're here about Anthony Vincenzo, right?" the physician said.

"That's right," Kolchak nodded.

The doctor sighed. "We haven't been able to do anything for him," he said. "The longer he's here, the worse he gets. We can't even figure out what's wrong."

Kolchak's stomach knotted. "This is different from the other victims, isn't it?" he said. "The ones brought in who were in comas?"

"Yes." The physician shook his head. "Whatever's happening in Mr. Vincenzo's mind, we can't get through for anything. His pulse was slow when he was brought in. Now it's racing and climbing higher. If this keeps up he'll die for certain."

"I want to see him." Kolchak's voice left no room for arguments. If the doctor refused him, he would find some other way to get into that room.

But the physician merely sighed again and stepped aside. "I'll take you to his room," he said.

Ishizu nodded. "I will wait here," she said.

Kolchak only glanced to her briefly before following the doctor down the hall.

Soon they had gone upstairs and down another hall. Then they finally stopped, having arrived at the correct room. The physician pushed the door open, allowing Kolchak entry before letting it close after him.

Kolchak stood where he was only a moment before he slowly walked over the floor, moving towards the bed. Tony was laying still, the machines around him beeping in frantic tones as they announced his current, concerning state. Kolchak stopped, taking off his hat and turning it around in his hands.

"Tony, I'm sorry," he said at last.

He slapped his hat against his leg in frustration. "What kind of a thing is that to say? That's not going to help you. I don't know _what's_ going to help you." He went over, gripping the bed railing. "What's going on? What did he do to you? What _could_ he have done, to get you laid up like this? Ishizu said he uses the staff to bring out people's worst fears. Did he do that to you?" In a half-sarcastic mutter he added, "Your worst fear is probably getting tossed in the funny farm for listening to my wild stories." His tone turned bitter. "And thanks to what _he_ did, you might get tossed somewhere else."

He clenched his teeth. "I hate even calling that thing a 'he.' He's not a person. He's a demon, a monster, some sort of foul being invented by a kid's dark emotions. Yeah, believe it or not, even I'm having a hard time swallowing this one. I'm still not sure the killer isn't Ishizu's brother himself. Or rather, still this second personality of his, just not in a separate body like Ishizu claims he is."

He pushed himself away from the railing and began to pace. "Don't you see, Tony? I can't throw in the towel, especially not now. The longer we let him roam free, the more people are going to end up hurt. He came after you and he shouldn't have. It was my fault it happened, I'm not denying that. But it's going to keep on happening to others if I sit around and do nothing."

He stopped, looking towards the bed again. "So I'm going to go out there and find him and stop him, and meanwhile, you have to fight to stay alive, alright?"

Of course, there was no indication of a response.

He waved a frustrated, discouraged, dismissive hand. "What am I talking about? You can't hear a word I'm saying, can you?" He turned away, trudging towards the door. "Desperate people will latch on to anything they can believe in."

When he returned to the waiting room he stopped still, blinking in surprise. Everyone there was a stranger. Ishizu had gone.

He looked to the nurse's station. "Excuse me," he said to the pretty brunette behind the desk, "do you happen to know where the woman went who was here with me?"

The nurse looked up, her brown eyes confused. "What woman?" she asked.

Kolchak's mouth fell open. "'What woman'?" he echoed. "She was here just a few minutes ago! She said she'd wait for me. You were here at the time; you must have seen her! She's about this high, wearing a white dress. She's Egyptian—tanned skin, black hair—but her eyes are blue."

The girl just shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir. No one like that was here. I'd remember her." She bit her lip. "You've been alone ever since you came several hours ago." She started to get up. "You've probably been under a lot of stress, with Mr. Vincenzo being hurt and all. If you like, I can get you a sedative. . . ."

Kolchak waved a frustrated hand in her direction. "I don't need any sedative," he retorted. "I need to find where she went."

He pulled out his cellphone as he stormed to the front doors. He had turned it on and was dialing Ishizu's cellphone number almost before he was outside again.

As before, it rang incessantly. Unlike before, this time there was no answer.

He slammed the phone shut, gazing out into the parking lot. Was her car somewhere here? There were not many vehicles here at this time of the day, so it should be easy to find. He hurried onto the asphalt, studying the cars on each row.

Several minutes later he came to a bewildered halt by his own car. Ishizu's car was not here. And she was still not answering her phone. What was going on now?

"Just what I needed," he grumbled. "Another mystery."

He climbed into the Mustang and started the engine. He would try the museum. In any case, if and when he found her, he had a few choice questions he wanted to ask—both about her breaking her word and about the nurse's bad memory.

xxxx

Ishizu Ishtar was in her office when Carl Kolchak arrived and knocked on the door. In a moment she had stood and crossed the room, opening the door. "Mr. Kolchak," she greeted. "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah? Well, that's good to know," Kolchak answered. "I was starting to wonder if you didn't want to be seen with me, since you ran off from the hospital like you did. And after saying you'd wait, too."

Ishizu gave him a blank look. "Mr. Kolchak, I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about," she said. "I haven't been to the hospital. Why were you there? Is something wrong?"

Kolchak could only stare. "I don't believe this!" he exclaimed. He walked around Ishizu and into her office. "First the nurse doesn't remember seeing you. Now _you_ don't remember being there!" He whirled to face her. "We had a whole conversation in the hospital waiting room! And as for what I was doing there, does the name Tony Vincenzo ring a bell?"

"Of course. He's your editor." Ishizu regarded him in confusion. "Has he been hurt?"

"Oh ho ho, not only has he been hurt, but your brother's little _friend_ left me a note about it!" Kolchak gestured towards the wall. "Everyone I know is going to be picked off one by one unless I stop him! And you can stand here and tell me you don't know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes." Ishizu frowned. "I am truly sorry about your editor, Mr. Kolchak, but I had no knowledge of his injuries before now. Whoever you spoke with at the hospital, it wasn't me."

"According to the nurse, it wasn't anyone!" Kolchak retorted. "Just what do you think about that?"

"I don't know." Ishizu stepped closer, moving to gently steer Kolchak into a chair. "Perhaps you should sit down and rest. The case must be taking a terrible strain on you, especially with this new message from Yami Marik."

Kolchak jerked away. "I don't need to sit down and rest!" he fumed. "I need to find out what's going on here. Either you and the nurse are outrageously forgetful or I'm crazy. And if I'm crazy, sister, then we're in a lot of trouble."

"Calm down, Mr. Kolchak." Ishizu looked firmly into his eyes. "You're not crazy. You're merely under a great deal of stress. Some rest would help."

"Funny, that's what the nurse said too." Kolchak stalked past her and to the door. "Sorry, I'm not sticking around here. There's no telling when or where that _thing_ is going to strike again. But I have to be there when he does." He stepped into the hall.

Ishizu hurried after him. "I'll help you look for him again," she said. "But so far he hasn't struck during the daytime. I really believe the best thing for you right now would be to go home and get some sleep."

"That's not going to happen," Kolchak said. "Tony is dying because of this creep. I'm not going to lie down and go to sleep while that madman is running loose!"

Ishizu pulled the door shut behind her. "Then we will go."

xxxx

"_October 4th, 5:28 P.M._

"_Ishizu was right—we didn't find a trace of Yami Marik anywhere, all that day, nor the next. I wanted to believe that was good, but I knew that he was just biding his time, waiting to make his next move. And when he did, it was going to be on someone I knew._

"_Who would he choose next? Certainly I felt more favorable towards Miss Emily than Ron Updyke, but would he go in order of preference?_

"_Both of them were aware of and horrified by the attack on Tony—who was still fighting for his life in the hospital. Updyke, of course, didn't believe my story about how and why it happened. Miss Emily was more willing to give me the benefit of a doubt._

"_As I took one last look around town I called to warn them both that they were likely in danger, a venture which had varying results and levels of success."_

"You mean that . . . that _thing_ is going to come after _us? Me?_" Ron exclaimed in horror.

"Why are you so worried? You don't believe it's real anyway, Uptight," Kolchak grumbled.

Ron was too upset to even correct him. "_Something_ hurt Mr. Vincenzo," he said. "Some horrible, psychotic killer. It's probably going to be like one of those books where everyone is picked off one by one!"

Kolchak could not deny the possibility. "That's why we have to keep him from picking everyone off, one by one," he said with impatience. "Ron, listen—call me if you see or hear anything strange. Don't wait to find out what it is. That could be too late!"

"Imagine—I have to leave my fate in your hands, of all people's," Ron sniveled. "I don't feel safe at all."

"You're welcome," Kolchak barked, sarcastic, as he hung up.

Miss Emily was willing to believe it, but she was not as cautious as Kolchak had prayed she would be.

"If that horrible man tries to come hurt me the way he hurt poor Mr. Vincenzo, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind," she declared.

"Miss Emily, don't say that!" Kolchak exclaimed. "He'll take it literally. But he won't settle for a piece. He'll turn every part of your mind upside-down and inside-out and before you know it, you won't know if you're coming or going."

"Oh, it's sweet of you to worry about me," Miss Emily said, "but there's no need. I can take care of myself. This Yami Marik person has never gone up against someone like me before!"

If the situation were not so dire, Kolchak would have been amused by the elderly woman's pluck. As it was, it only served to make him more concerned than ever.

"Miss Emily, trust me—you have no idea what he's like. You wouldn't stand a chance!" A car honked at him as it passed, the driver annoyed that he was talking on his cellphone while driving. He ignored it. "Look at all the people he's surprised and killed or hurt, just like that!"

"It just makes me furious!" Miss Emily declared. "It's time someone showed him that he can't get away with anything he pleases!"

"That's what we're going to do," Kolchak said, trying to keep his voice under control. "But please, Miss Emily, for the love of all that's good and holy, don't take him on yourself! Call me if you see or hear anything out of the ordinary!"

"Of course," Miss Emily sighed in resignation. "I will."

"Thank you. You don't know what a load that is off my mind."

But Kolchak hung up moments later with a sigh of his own. Even having warned them both, it was no guarantee that he would be able to protect them. Yami Marik could suddenly sneak up on them, not giving them any chance to do anything before attacking. Somehow he had to make sure that they had more of a chance than that.

He dialed Ishizu's number. "Look, I'm sure he's going to strike with one of two people next," he said when she answered. "I need to watch their places in case he shows up."

"Of course," Ishizu said. "And you want me to look after one of them?"

"Well, I can't watch them both and I don't know where else to turn," Kolchak said.

"Where do you want me to go?" Ishizu asked.

Kolchak did not take much, if any, time to think about it. "Go to Ron Upti-_dyke's_ place," he said. "I'll give you the address. Call me if Yami Marik shows up."

"Alright. I will, if I have the chance. I might have to act quickly." Ishizu waited to hear the address and then hung up, leaving Kolchak to drive to Miss Emily's.

He slipped the phone back into his pocket as he turned the corner. It was true, Ishizu might have to act fast. She might not have any chance to contact him at all.

But he could not help wanting her to have that chance. Yami Marik had made this rampage personal. Kolchak wanted to be there when he was defeated. Kolchak wanted to be the one to defeat him.

He owed that much to Tony, after he had been hurt because of Kolchak's investigation.

xxxx

"_October 4th, 10:33 P.M._

"_Neither my nor Ishizu's stakeouts resulted in being able to prevent Yami Marik's attack. In fact, the attack didn't come at all. By the time it was late night my lack of sleep was starting to catch up with me. I fumbled with the radio, hoping to find something that would keep me awake._

"_I found it."_

"2472 calling Headquarters. 2472 calling Headquarters. Two bodies found at the corner of State and Beech Tree. I.D. reads Sally Morgan and Chet Finley. It's the same M.O. as the others. That nut's struck again."

Kolchak slammed his fist onto the steering wheel as the police communiqué continued. Yami Marik had tricked him, wanting him to think that all of the people he knew would be next in a neat little row. Instead the wretch had planned it this way, killing some poor strangers before going after any more of Kolchak's acquaintances. And because Kolchak had been so convinced that he knew what was going to happen next, he had not been around to try to prevent this latest tragedy.

He could almost hear Yami Marik cackling in his head as he revved the engine and headed for State and Beech Tree.


	5. Downward Spiral

**Notes: There's a graphic bit here, but it's very brief. I'm not sure if it constitutes changing the overall rating or not. Also, I've thrown in a nod to what seems to be a canonical interest in Duke Ellington's music.**

**Chapter Five**

"_October 5th, 12:00 P.M._

"_Of course, the police weren't happy to see me. (Are they ever?) But the feeling was perfectly mutual; I was only there because of what I'd heard on my police scanner. And while I was sure that the victims were not anyone I knew, I wanted to see them myself and make certain of it once and for all._

"_I confirmed soon enough that they were strangers to me, but I was still furious—or even more so. And what if while everyone was occupied with Yami Marik's latest offerings to the darkness he turned tail and really struck out at someone I knew? That thought quickly sent me back to my car and to Miss Emily's house, out of the police's hair._

"_After a while of still nothing, I drove around Chicago looking for that madman in case he had decided to pull the same trick a second time. But naturally he chose that time to disappear, leaving me in complete and utter consternation. At last I went back to Miss Emily's, where I finally ended up dozing in the car around dawn."_

Kolchak started out of a dream that fled from his mind almost instantaneously. He slumped back against the seat, pushing his hat away from his eyes as he squinted at the brightness of the sun beaming down on him. From its overhead position, and the uncomfortably warm car, it had to be around noon.

Suddenly he was completely awake. How could he have slept until noon? What if Yami Marik had come during that time, finding it a hilarious opportunity to harm Miss Emily? It was strange that she had not seen Kolchak by now and come to wake him herself.

He leaped over the car door, not bothering to stop to actually open it as he rushed across the street and to Miss Emily's porch. "Miss Emily! Miss Emily!" he called, banging on the door.

Would she have gone to INS, even with Tony so gravely hurt? Maybe she had gone to the hospital. And maybe she had seen Kolchak asleep as she had left, but she had figured out what had probably happened and had decided to let him sleep. There were all kinds of explanations for why Kolchak had not been awakened, explanations that had nothing to do with Yami Marik coming to make the poor dear woman his next victim.

But despite knowing that, Kolchak's panic was getting the better of him. It was not something he usually did, or even thought of doing, but he was desperate—he kicked in the door. As it crashed back against the wall he hurried into the living room, dreading what he might see. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. It also looked like Miss Emily was not home. Surely she would have come to see what was going on with so much noise . . . unless she couldn't.

He hurried through the house, looking into each room without success. By the time he came back down to the living room, his feelings had only slightly abated. Miss Emily was definitely not here. She was probably at work or at the hospital. But considering that Tony had been hurt at work, that was not much of a comfort.

He pulled the door shut behind him as he stepped onto the porch and got his phone out of his pocket. Almost automatically by this point, he dialed Ishizu's number. As usual, it rang with no answer. Unlike before, she did not finally pick it up. His eyes narrowing, he tried again, with the same result.

"Okay then," he muttered, hurrying to his car. "It looks like you and Updyke are going to get a little visit from a nosy reporter."

xxxx

Ishizu's car was parked outside Ron's home when Kolchak turned onto the street. He pulled up behind and jumped out, crossing in determination to the other vehicle. Ishizu was inside, having dozed off against the inside of the door.

"Well, if that's all it is," Kolchak muttered.

He knocked on the window. "Miss Ishtar? Miss Ishtar!" Ishizu continued to sleep. Frowning, Kolchak rapped harder. "Miss Ishtar! Wake up!" He stepped back to observe her better. "She must be in the deepest sleep known to man," he decided.

On a whim he tried the door. The handle pulled up and the door clicked; it was unlocked. But as he pulled it open Ishizu tumbled out, sprawling lifeless on the asphalt. Red began to seep out from under her head, staining the road.

Kolchak's heart leaped into his throat. Ishizu was not asleep. He glanced up at the inside of the door. It was crimson.

He fell to his knees, turning Ishizu onto her back. The left side of her head was a matted, bloodied mess. There was no breath, no pulse. Yami Marik had struck again.

Shaking, Kolchak lifted Ishizu's body into his arms and back into the car. This could not have happened that long ago; she was still warm. And what about . . .

He looked to the house with a start. The front door was wide open.

His mind suddenly even more occupied, he swung the car door shut but did not bother to make sure it was tight. He ran for the house. "Updyke!" he yelled as he tore over the sidewalk. His voice echoed around him, magnifying his surreal state.

He was in the living room before he stopped short, taking in the scene. The room was a disaster. Furniture was overturned, picture frames were shattered, and papers were everywhere. Ron would have been having a fit if he had been available to see it.

Maybe it was the same thing with Miss Emily and Ron was not even home. But the horrible feeling did not go away. The same thought continued to run through Kolchak's mind—would Ishizu have been killed if Yami Marik had not wanted her out of the way to get to someone else? She had suffered an actual physical attack, unlike the mental assaults of the other victims. And Yami Marik had murdered her quickly instead of drawing it out.

Kolchak wandered into the kitchen. It was untouched, save for an empty bottle on the counter. Knowing Ron, he would not have left it around. Had Yami Marik had the gall to come in and drink something out of the fridge? Did a thing like that drink at all?

Kolchak turned away and headed for the hall. "Updyke, you'd better answer me if you're here," he said. Not that he thought Ron would ignore him; on the contrary, the other reporter would probably be aghast that Kolchak had dared to come into his house. Kolchak had never been there before, and under other circumstances he might have found the chance to look at his nemesis's lair morbidly intriguing, but now he was too worried. No matter what he thought of Updyke, he did not want Yami Marik to get hold of him.

There was still no reply to his announcements. Kolchak advanced, turning to the left to check the bathroom. It was spotless, typical of Ron's upkeep—but considering the state of the living room it only served to make Kolchak more unsettled than ever.

The bedroom door was half-open. Kolchak moved ahead, regarding it with narrowed eyes. "Updyke?" he called as he approached. He paused at the doorway, looking into the room. It was in darkness, with the only light coming from under the curtained window to the side. But the small patch of sun was resting over a two-toned carpet—tan and red.

Kolchak burst through the door without another thought. Almost immediately he stumbled to a stop. The bile rose in his throat.

Ron Updyke was sprawled on the floor, staring straight at Kolchak with a look that could never change. A look that said Kolchak had failed once again.

A spear had been driven through the middle of his torso, pinning him to the floor.

xxxx

"And this is exactly how you found things when you came in?"

Kolchak gave an impatient nod. "For the last time, yes!" he snapped. He crossed an arm over his chest and propped his thumb against the bridge of his nose, avoiding looking at the gory scene.

Bulbs were flashing as the police took pictures of the horror in the bedroom. Kolchak, for once, would have been just fine not taking pictures of his own. The initial look at Ron had been far too much. But he wanted every bit of this outrage documented. After calling the police he had snapped pictures of both Ron and Ishizu, as well as of Ishizu's car and Ron's living room.

"And this was done by the same nut who's been attacking everyone else?" the police officer persisted, scribbling on his notepad.

"Yes!" Kolchak exclaimed. "What, don't you believe me?"

"It's not the same M.O.," the policeman frowned. "Both of these are brutal murders with obvious physical causes. All the others showed no outward signs of what caused their deaths. And the ones still alive don't give any indication of what put them into comas."

"He's getting more graphic!" Kolchak protested. "It's to get at me. He said as much on the wall when he attacked Vincenzo, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." The officer narrowed his eyes at Kolchak. "I also remember that you were the one who found him, too. Isn't it convenient, that you're always the one around for these attacks directed at you?"

"That's what he wants!" Kolchak stiffened as the implication began to sink in. "You're not accusing _me_ of . . . !"

The officer sighed. "No, Kolchak. I'm not. Although sometimes I'd _like_ to find a major crime to hang around your neck." He finished writing and looked up. "If it's really like you say it is, with this guy coming after you, then I'm sorry. No one deserves shocks like this."

"No one deserves to die like _that!_" Kolchak retorted, gesturing in the general direction of Ron's body. "What are the police doing to stop this from happening? Huh? Are you doing anything to catch this guy?"

"We're doing all we can," the other man said, his tone clipped.

"And what about if you ever catch up to him?" Kolchak asked. "What are you going to do then? Regular weapons aren't going to work on him. He's not human!"

"You've got that right, Kolchak," the officer said.

"No! I mean he's literally not human, not mortal!" Kolchak exclaimed. "You can only stop him with light!"

"Oh, so he's a vampire," the officer said with a bored nod.

"He's not a vampire!" Kolchak snapped. "He's worse! And it's not just as simple as pointing a light at him—you have to have faith in the light."

All the police stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at him.

"I know it sounds crazy!" Kolchak said, throwing his hands in the air. "I don't get it either. But that's what was said."

"By who, the Care Bears?" another office snickered.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it off," Kolchak grumped. "You won't find it very funny if he decides to make one of you the next victim."

The ringing of his cellphone brought an end to the conversation. He took it up and flipped it open. "Hello?" he said in impatience. Lately, all he was finding was bad news in scads. What would it be this time?

"Carl!"

He froze. "Miss Emily," he gasped. "Where are you? I've been looking all over for you!"

"Well, I went to the hospital to ask about Mr. Vincenzo," Miss Emily said. "I'm afraid he's getting worse."

The anger and outrage in Kolchak's heart burned with added fury. "What are they saying about him now?" he demanded.

"They don't think he'll live for more than a few hours." Miss Emily's voice was sad. "I stayed for a little bit, but then they sent me away."

"They sent you away?" Kolchak echoed. It definitely had to be getting a lot worse, for them to do that.

"I went to the paper for a while, but I just couldn't think about work," Miss Emily continued. "All I could think about was poor Mr. Vincenzo, lying in that bed all alone as he's dying so long before his time. I finally had to pick up and go home."

"Are you home right now, Miss Emily?" Kolchak asked.

"Yes," Miss Emily said slowly, "but I think something's wrong. The front door is open and I saw the shadow of something in the kitchen. I was going to just go in, but I remembered what you said and that I'd promised to call you first."

"That's good," Kolchak said. "That's very good, Miss Emily. Now please, don't move, don't do anything until I get there."

"But that horrible man is in my lovely house!" Miss Emily cried.

"I know that, but it's better than if you were in the house with him," Kolchak said.

He debated with himself. Should he tell her about Ron? Obviously she had not yet heard. He wanted her to be more careful, but there was the chance that telling her of Ron's fate would make her run into the house with her purse bared for attack.

At last he went on, "I'm leaving right now. Just stay where you are, Miss Emily. I'll be there in five minutes!"

But instead of Miss Emily answering, a cold chuckle filled the phone. "Oh, you're really going to join us? Maybe I'll have to keep her alive for five more minutes then." There was a muffled scream. The phone went dead.

"Hello?" Kolchak yelled. "Hello? Miss Emily!" Not waiting for a reply, he shoved the phone in his pocket and ran for the door.

"Hey!" one of the police called after him. "Where are you going? What was that all about?"

"He's after Miss Emily!" Kolchak said, never looking back. "He's with her right now. Follow me if you don't believe it!" He tore into the hall, pushing past two stunned police detectives, and all but flew to the front door. Within another minute he was on his way.

He gripped the steering wheel tight in his hands as he drove. Yami Marik had pushed him too far. Tony was dying, Ron was dead, and Miss Emily was now in danger. He was going to stop this madman once and for all.

Was Yami Marik really so cocky that he thought he would survive a second meeting with Kolchak? This time Kolchak would not allow himself to be surprised. He would do what Ishizu had told him. He would have faith in the light and blast that wretch to oblivion. And he would relish doing it.

By the time he reached Miss Emily's house the sky had grown overcast and dark. Lightning flashed somewhere in the distance, illuminating the scene for a short moment before it vanished.

"I wish it would come out and strike him down," Kolchak muttered.

Miss Emily was nowhere near her car or outside at all. And, just like at Ron's house, the front door was wide open. Kolchak parked in front and leaped out of the Mustang, running for the porch.

Would he find another grisly scene? Had Yami Marik already killed poor Miss Emily? Or was he waiting for Kolchak to come so he could murder her in front of Kolchak's eyes? Either way, he was going down _now._

"Miss Emily!" Kolchak yelled. "Miss Emily!" He tore up the stairs and into the living room.

Miss Emily was standing in the middle of the floor, her eyes wide in terror. Yami Marik was directly behind her, with one arm around her throat. The other was at her waist. His eyes were wide in sickening delight.

"You're late," he said. "But now the execution can begin." He held tighter to the elderly woman's slightly trembling body. "How should I do it this time? By the way, did you like how I gutted Ron Updyke like a stuck pig?"

Miss Emily froze. "Ron?" Suddenly she was possessed of new outrage. She fought to get free. "What did you do to him, you monster?"

"He's dead, just like you'll be, my dear," Yami Marik sneered. He thrust her roughly to the floor, placing a foot on her side before she could even try to get up. "In a moment we're going to be treated to the wonderful sound of you screaming in the death-throes of pain!"

The last threads of Kolchak's self-control bent and broke. _"Leave her alone!"_ he roared. In the next moment he lunged, grabbing the wretched beast by the shoulders as he tackled him to the floor. Now Kolchak was no longer thinking about light or faith. Blinded by hate, the only thing that mattered was releasing the rage that had been building ever since he had found Tony motionless on the floor. He swung one punch, then another, fury driving each fist into Yami Marik's face.

"Carl!" Miss Emily cried. Shaking, she pulled herself to her knees, staring in horror at the scene. Yami Marik deserved every bit of it, there was no doubt about that. But Kolchak had become a wild man. She could not stand to see him like that. She reached out, grabbing for him. "Carl, stop!"

Something in her plaintive voice got through to him. He rocked back, breathing heavily as he gazed at the creature he had been attacking. The Cheshire cat grin stretched nearly from ear to ear.

"Don't stop," Yami Marik cackled. "Your anger, your rage, your hatred—I want it. It makes me stronger. I can do _this!_" Without warning he threw Kolchak off of him, blasting him with the staff at the same time. Miss Emily screamed.

The cry rang in Kolchak's ears as he slammed into the opposite wall and fell to the floor in a heap. _Idiot,_ he berated himself. _I'm an idiot! I gave him exactly what he wanted._ He gripped a handful of carpet, shaking as he fought against his now-topsy-turvy equilibrium to get up.

Yami Marik blasted him again, sending him back to the floor on his stomach. "How the mighty have fallen," Yami Marik taunted. "Have you heard about Tony Vincenzo's condition? Tragic, isn't it?"

"You put him into it!" Kolchak snarled.

Yami Marik laughed. "And I enjoyed every minute of it." He advanced, pointing the staff at Kolchak. "You should have seen the look in his eyes when I finally convinced him that I'm the real thing." The staff began to glow.

He had forgotten all about Miss Emily. Now she came up behind him, smashing a vase into his head. "Leave Carl alone!" she exclaimed.

Yami Marik yelled, thrown off-balance. The staff discharged harmlessly into the wall.

Kolchak got to his feet, grabbing hold of it before Yami Marik could recover. "Miss Emily, that was beautiful!" he declared, breaking into a grin as he pulled the staff out of Yami Marik's hands. The Egyptian whirled to face Kolchak, grabbing for his weapon at the same instant. But it was too late. Kolchak held it out of his reach, but pointed at him.

"Okay, Mr. Yami Marik," Kolchak said. "So faith in the light's supposed to defeat you, eh? Take this!" He braced himself for the impact.

Instead of crackling to life, the staff didn't glow for even one second. Yami Marik sneered, crossing his arms. "You think you're going to defeat me with that?" he said. "You don't even have the mental energy to make it work!"

Miss Emily stared. "Carl, what are you trying to do?" she exclaimed.

Kolchak was bewildered. "It's supposed to work!" he said. "What's the matter with this blasted thing?" He shook it up and down, all to no avail.

"Are you satisfied?" Yami Marik grinned.

"No, I'm not!" Kolchak retorted. Still holding onto the staff, he pulled a flashlight out of his pocket. "This is what I was going to use in the first place. Get out of here!" He switched it on, illuminating the ever-darkening room with its off-white glow.

But Yami Marik was still standing in front of him, completely unaffected. He reached out, snatching Kolchak's tie.

In disgust Kolchak smacked him with the flashlight. "Hey, let go!" he ordered.

Yami Marik laughed. "You'll never be able to light so much as a match that can do damage to me," he said. "I could take your flashlight and blast _you_ to Kingdom Come with it!"

Kolchak slipped the flashlight into his pocket and wrenched his tie away from Yami Marik. "I'm not going to give you the chance," he retorted. "And I'm going to hold onto this, even if I can't use it." He indicated the staff.

Yami Marik waved a dismissive hand. "Go ahead," he said. "I don't need it now." Veins popped out over his face. "All of the negative emotions I've brought forth over the past few days have given me enough power to surpass it by far!"

Dark purple energy burst from his form. Both Miss Emily and Kolchak were struck and sent flying from the force. As Kolchak hit the floor, everything went black.

xxxx

There was nothing quite like waking up to the sound of Duke Ellington's classic _Concerto for Cootie_. Slowly Kolchak opened his eyes, staring, unfocused, at the ceiling.

"_Do nothin' till you hear from me,"_ he mumbled, half-singing the lyrical version. Funny; the accompaniment sounded so tinny and computerized. Was something wrong with his CD?

"Carl!"

That brought him a bit more to consciousness. "Miss Emily?" he slurred.

"Carl, your phone is ringing!"

Oh, so _that's_ what it was. Of course. Kolchak sat up straight, rubbing the back of his head. "What hit me?" he mumbled, at the same time reaching an awkward hand into his pocket.

"I don't know!" Miss Emily exclaimed. "Some kind of purple force field came out from that horrible man and he blasted us with it!"

Kolchak cringed. "Oh. I remember now." He pulled out his phone, flipping it open. "And he's gone, isn't he."

"I'm afraid so. And look at this mess he's left!" Miss Emily fumed. Nothing in the room had been left standing, including them.

Kolchak gripped the phone as he brought it to his ear. Yes, it was all coming back now. He had come here to save Miss Emily and get rid of Yami Marik. And Miss Emily seemed to be alright, thank God. But nothing he had done to defeat Yami Marik had worked. He had lost control of himself, beating and pounding on the devil, only to learn Yami Marik had wanted that all along. And Ishizu's "faith in the light" idea had not worked in the least. Maybe Kolchak had even helped make Yami Marik strong enough to be immune to that.

"Hello?" he said into the phone, still occupied with his thoughts.

What his caller told him jarred him cruelly back into the present. The phone slipped from his fingers, bouncing to the floor.

"Carl!" Miss Emily cried. "Carl, what is it? What's happened?"

Kolchak shook his head. "That's the hospital," he said, almost in a numb daze. "Tony's flatlined." His shoulders trembled as the full weight of that announcement crashed upon him. "He's dead. Oh God, he's dead."


	6. Heaven Bend to Take My Hand

**Notes: Some things I can't fully determine until testing by posting first. It's been nagging at me that I need at least one other scene between the church and the confrontation, but I haven't been sure how to work it. I have finally determined the answer, however, so this chapter will now be split. Part of it moves to the final segment, along with a new scene before and the epilogue afterwards.**

**Chapter Six**

"_October 6th, 2:00 A.M._

"_Despite the phone call from such an official source, there was a part of me that still couldn't believe what I had been told. I left Miss Emily's house in a fog, with her at my side and the staff in my hand. The police were just arriving then—too little, too late. They demanded to know what had happened, but I don't even remember what I told them. I helped Miss Emily into my car, got in myself, and drove off._

"_No one at the hospital was surprised to see me, but some of them were surprised at the bumps and bruises Miss Emily had sustained. They wanted to escort her away to tend to them, which I was completely in favor of._

"_And then even more of the staff was surprised when I made my own demands."_

"Sir, what did you say?" the nurse blinked, bewildered.

"I said I want to see Tony Vincenzo," Kolchak said. "I got a call from the hospital saying he'd flatlined. I won't believe it until I see it."

"You're not family, are you?" she frowned.

"No, I'm not, but do you see any of them here?" Kolchak gestured around the room. "Miss Emily and I work with him. Right now, we're probably the closest thing to family that he has in Chicago."

Miss Emily nodded. "But I think I'll take the hospital at their word, Carl," she said quietly.

Kolchak waved a hand in her direction. "Yes, yes, that's fine," he said, occupied with his thoughts. "Good for you, Miss Emily. However, I'm not satisfied."

The nurse looked conflicted. "I can call the doctor and ask," she said, reaching for the phone.

"Do that," Kolchak said. "I'll wait."

It was after Miss Emily had gone with the nurse to be treated that the doctor finally came into the room. Kolchak looked up at the sound of the footsteps.

"I hear you don't believe what the hospital tells you, Mr. Kolchak?" the physician greeted. His tone was not unpleasant, but it was still clear that he was not sure what to make of Kolchak's request.

"It's not that exactly, Doctor," Kolchak said. "But Tony and I have worked together for years, from Las Vegas to Seattle to here in Chicago. I don't particularly want to accept that he's gone the way of all the earth without seeing for myself."

The other man gave a tired nod. "My team and I tried for some time to revive him," he said. "It didn't do any good; his body had simply given out." He stepped aside to allow Kolchak to pass. "But there's really no reason why you can't see him."

Kolchak walked past him and into the hall. "Thanks."

The physician walked with him to the room. "Take as much time as you need," he said, pushing open the heavy door just enough to allow Kolchak to slip inside.

Tony was lying silent and still in the bed. The machines, with nothing left to record, were disconnected. Kolchak stared, his mind blank. The door clicked shut behind him, but he barely heard.

"Tony?" he ventured, taking several steps into the room.

The silence was deafening. Kolchak removed his hat, twisting the straw brim in his hands.

"So . . . this really is the end, huh?" He moved closer to the bed. "There's no chance that you'll suddenly sit up and tell me that this is all in my head, another of my wild delusions?" He looked away, his voice catching in his throat. "I wish it was."

It was too hard to look at Tony for any length of time. Kolchak had seen so many dead bodies over the years that he had worked as a reporter. He thought he had gotten used to it. And he had seen them in all kinds of horrifying, sickening states, mutilated by accidents, human monsters, and the supernatural. Tony had not even been wounded or cut up in such ways, but seeing him there and knowing that he would never wake up felt like the very worst thing Kolchak had seen.

"I keep wondering if it would have been different if I hadn't left the office that night," Kolchak spoke again. "Oh, I know it's pointless to even think about it, but I can't seem to stop myself. I was so frustrated after our exchange of words that I wanted to get away, just for a little while. And that might have meant the difference between life and death for you."

He started to pace the floor. "Yet on the other hand, maybe it wouldn't have changed a thing. You know, you were right, Tony. I couldn't do anything against that thing. I was right there, facing off against him in Miss Emily's house, and he completely mopped the floor with me!" He stopped near the window, though he did not look out. "I never should have got involved. I'm an idiot!

"This, look at this, it's such a brilliant piece of journalism! I've got my editor and a fellow reporter killed and a columnist attacked!" He gestured around the room. "And that thing's still running wild." He dropped his hands to his sides. "I don't know how to stop him. I don't know that there's anything that can. The only one who could even tell me is dead now too."

He looked back to Tony, his shoulders slumping. "At least you don't have to worry about it anymore," he said. He headed for the door. "And you know what? I'm not sure that I will anymore, either.

"Rest in peace, Tony."

xxxx

The hall was empty when Kolchak stepped out of the room. He pulled the door shut behind him, taking a moment to get his bearings. Then he turned, walking with almost mechanical steps towards the head of the corridor.

It was a relief to find that the hospital chapel was empty—and mostly dark, lit mainly by several dim lights on the ceiling and reflecting off the stained-glass windows. The last thing Kolchak wanted right now was to run into other people. He collapsed into a bench on the far right and leaned forward, shaking as his soul quietly fell to pieces. Too much had been thrust upon him in the space of such a short time. Tony's death had been the last straw.

"I feel like I'm losing my mind. Oh God, what am I going to do now?" he spoke, barely above a whisper. "What am I going to _do?_ I can't leave him roaming free. But I don't know how to stop him. I _can't_ stop him. It's hopeless!"

The room was strong and silent, offering no answer to the impossible problem. For he did not know how long, he stayed there in the stillness of the chapel, lost in the tumble of his thoughts. He could not take any more of this. As far as he was concerned, Yami Marik had won.

Somewhere beyond the chapel, doctors, nurses, and visitors called to each other. Kolchak tuned them out, staring at the pew in front of him without really seeing it.

In the past there had always been some solution, some way, to stop the rampages of the paranormal beings that preyed upon hapless people. Kolchak had never stopped digging until he found the methods, no matter how bizarre or grotesque. He had staked vampires, attempted to sew a zombie's lips shut, and chased a monster from the Louisiana bogs through the sewer. But the only thing he knew to get rid of Yami Marik was to have faith in the light, and that had failed so miserably, so laughably, that it was shameful to even think about.

And what about the boy who had created this demon? Ishizu had claimed that she had not been able to contact him. If that were true, maybe something really was wrong. And if it were not, he would be finding out soon about his sister's death. The police were probably trying to reach him tonight.

Maybe Kolchak should try to reach him too, on the slim chance that he might know something that Ishizu had not. And then there was that other person, that Rishid guy, whom Ishizu had said had kept Yami Marik at bay in the past.

But if they really knew something else, wouldn't they have told Ishizu?

On the other hand, Ishizu had not mentioned the mind reading at their first meeting. Maybe there was something else she had neglected to mention. Still, after all their subsequent encounters, surely she would have told him.

If she had really been truthful with him in the first place. He was a distrusting cynic, but he had to cling to the hope that people were telling him the truth when it came to supernatural monsters and how to defeat them. He had no other choice, especially in this case. After Ishizu had told him the unbelievable story he had tried to research legends of second personalities literally kicking the first personality out of the host body, as well as developing their own forms after the first personality had conquered them. He had learned a good deal about what was known concerning the psychology of personality disorders, but nothing about such extreme and outrageous cases. It looked like Ishizu had been right about Yami Marik being one of a kind.

Something had definitely been wrong about Ishizu, though. She had insisted that she had not been at the hospital with him, when he knew very well that she had been. Yet on the other hand, no one at the hospital had remembered her, either.

For all he would know, maybe she was a witch and she had cast some kind of spell over everyone.

Now someone was calling to someone else right outside the chapel. Kolchak frowned, ducking down further in the pew. Hopefully whoever it was did not plan on coming in here. He still wanted his solitude.

"Carl! Are you in here?"

He stiffened. It was _him_ being called—or someone with the same name. Yeah, that had to be it. There wasn't any guy who would be calling him, not by his first name.

Except one person who could not call him now.

He sprang to his feet, his heart racing. The door to the chapel was starting to open. "Carl!"

Kolchak backed up. "Stay away from me!" he yelled, pointing his forefinger at the phantom. "I've had enough of your tricks, Yami Marik. You're not going to fool me again! Never again!"

"Kolchak, listen to me for half a minute!" Tony Vincenzo exclaimed. He came further into the room, letting the door swing shut behind him.

Kolchak shook his head. "Ohh no," he said. "Uh uh. You're just trying to push me all the way over the brink of insanity. Well, let me tell you something—you've already done a bang-up job! Murdering the real Tony, Ishizu Ishtar, even Updyke! Attacking Miss Emily! Showing me up to be the biggest sucker in Chicago!" He leaped onto a pew. "Now you're trying to make me think Tony's back from the grave—or that he's haunting me from it. And I'm not buying it!"

"_KOLCHAK!"_

The scream stunned him speechless. Or maybe it was not the scream at all, but what was behind it. He stood stock still, watching with suspicious eyes as Tony came down the aisle and looked up at him on the bench.

"Kolchak, think about what you're suggesting for the slightest moment. Remember some of your past stories! You said that evil spirit, doppelganger, whatever it was, couldn't get into a church. Vampires are weakened by the cross and stay away from it. Holy water destroyed the devil's power in that amulet. Do you really think that something as evil as this Yami Marik could waltz right into a church?"

Kolchak breathed heavily, scrutinizing the man below him. What was being said was true, and a good point was being made about Yami Marik, but that did not change that this meeting was impossible. Not unless Tony was a ghost.

"Tony Vincenzo never believed my stories," he spoke at last, cautious, unyielding.

"That's right—I didn't! I . . . I don't!" Tony threw his hands in the air. "But something hasn't been right since that nutcase started attacking people." He stepped closer. "And something hasn't been right with you since you met up with him the first time, out in the street."

"What?" Kolchak exclaimed. He jumped down from the pew. "What are you talking about?"

Tony crossed his arms. "You've been his pawn ever since then! You've only seen what he wanted you to see, what he wanted you to know. And some of it never happened at all!" He looked into Kolchak's eyes. "I know, because that's what he did to me before you found me in my office."

Kolchak's mouth fell open. "You . . . you're saying he had you under some kind of spell? And now me too?" he gasped. But before Tony could answer Kolchak fixed him with an unimpressed glare. "And you're saying I really did find you. I wonder what else really happened. Like, oh, say, your death?"

"Do you believe I'm Tony Vincenzo?"

Kolchak shook his head. "No way. Not unless I can _put my hand through you!_" He reached out without warning, swiping at Tony's chest.

His hand hit solid flesh.

Again he stared. He had not been expecting that. He stumbled back, his heart beginning to pound again.

Tony advanced on him. "Carl, I didn't die. I wasn't ever dead! Yeah, Yami Marik did a number on me. Yeah, you found me in my office. And I was really thrown for a loop for a while there. But me being near-death and then dying, that was just Yami Marik messing with your mind. Just like Ron Updyke's and Ishizu Ishtar's deaths! Yami Marik was trying to break you, Carl. And from the looks of it, he did a heck of a good job!"

By now Kolchak had backed up into the wall. He pressed himself against it, searching this phantom with wild eyes. In spite of what he had said, this had to be another trick. Yami Marik had to have found some way to enter the church and cast an illusion.

_Illusion. . . ._

If Kolchak could think this was an illusion, was it so hard to think that the horrors of the past few days could be illusions? Or maybe twisted reality? Ishizu had told him that the staff could be used to plunge people into their fears.

Was this his worst fear—complete, utter failure, with people he knew and some he even cared about being hurt and dying around him because of his inability to save them?

He turned away, trembling, passing a hand over his face. "I can't believe it," he said. "I can't."

"You can't believe it?" Tony burst out. "For once, _you_ can't believe something off-the-wall and _I'm_ the one trying to convince you? Yami Marik turned you upsidedown even more than I thought! He turned _both of us_ upsidedown!"

Kolchak's head shot up. "I can't believe it because it's too good to be true," he said, the bitterness saturating his voice. "I've watched people get hurt and die because of Yami Marik. First it was you. Then I found Ishizu dead in her car. And Updyke was murdered in his own home, run through by a spear and pinned to the floor with it! You know as well as I do that I'm no friend of Updyke's, but I never wanted him dead. Especially not like _that!_"

He straightened, his eyes flashing with the anguish and grief he had been suffering for the last days. "Then Yami Marik goes and tries to kill Miss Emily. Somehow I managed to save her, thank God, but I couldn't defeat him. Instead I lost my marbles and beat him up. And guess what? That just made him stronger! He _wanted_ me to snap! And when I tried to use Ishizu's 'faith in the light' method, it didn't work at all! He escaped, more powerful than ever!"

He tapped Tony's chest lightly with his forefinger. "And after all that, what then? What do you think happened then? The hospital called and told me you were dead!" He stepped closer. "Oh, I didn't want to believe it. I wouldn't believe it until I came and saw you for myself. _And I saw that you were a lifeless corpse!_ I saw that you wouldn't wake up again!" He turned away, his voice dropping. "I saw that it was all my fault."

Tony swore under his breath, haunted by what he was witnessing. "Carl . . ."

Kolchak shook his head, turning to walk towards the altar. "That's why I can't believe it, Tony," he said. "Because after having everything taken away from me, particularly due to my own failures, it's too incredible to think I can really have it back. Or that I never lost it in the first place."

Tony stared after him. "I never thought I'd see you like this," he said. "Sure, I've seen you in some pretty bad states before, but _this. . . ._ Nothing tops this." He half-turned, clenching a fist as he glared at the wall. "No punishment in this world is good enough for that . . . whatever it is."

Kolchak was leaning on the altar with one arm, staring into the distance. Although he gave no indication that he had heard a word, he had. "'No punishment in this world'," he echoed.

And suddenly it clicked. "That's it!" he cried.

Tony leaped a mile. "What's it?" he demanded.

Kolchak spun around, his face and temperament completely different from moments before. Now he was positively beaming. "I know how to defeat Yami Marik!" he declared. He rested his hands on Tony's shoulders. "And Tony, it's all thanks to you!"

"What are you talking about?" Tony exclaimed. "And does this mean you finally believe what I'm telling you is the truth?"

"Yes!" Kolchak confirmed. "I believe it. You really are alive, Tony! You never did die! And you say the others are alive too?"

"Yeah," Tony said, the bewilderment showing all over his face. "Miss Ishtar was there when I woke up in the hospital. She told me what was going on and she and I have both been trying to get through to you for ages! You couldn't hear or see us because of that hypnotic trance or whatever it was that he's had you in. It only broke when you came in here. Or, well, that's what Miss Ishtar said, anyway."

"Is she here too?" Kolchak demanded.

"She's out in the hall," Tony said. He looked away, a bit embarrassed now. "She thought I could get through to you better than she could."

"Oh, Tony, that's great!" Kolchak clapped him on the shoulder and turned to hurry up the aisle. "Come on, I'll tell you what I've figured out."

"Great!" Tony grumbled as he followed. "I was wondering if you were ever going to get around to it."

"And Tony?" Kolchak came to an abrupt stop, nearly causing Tony to crash into him. He turned again, sobered now. "I'm glad you're alright."

"I'm glad _you're_ alright," Tony retorted. "You've really been scaring me. Do you know that?"

"That makes two of us," Kolchak said. Again he turned, heading towards the door.

Tony gave chase. "My ulcer's going to be acting up for weeks because of this!" he complained.


	7. Faith in the Light

**Notes: This segment was stubborn! It knew what it wanted and refused to be finished until I complied. For those unaware, I split up chapter 6. The last scene is now in this chapter, but it's been drastically altered, so please read it again.**

**Chapter Seven**

"_October 6th, 4:00 A.M._

"_I still wasn't fully sure about all of the details surrounding the altered reality I had been living in since my first fateful meeting with Yami Marik. Some was fact, some was fiction, just as Tony had told me. It was enough to make me still question the reality I had found myself in now._

"_And yet, somehow I knew that this time everything was really happening. Tony was alive. So was Ishizu Ishtar. And Tony placed a call to Ron Updyke to let me hear that he was still among the living as well. I think it was the first time I've been glad to hear his voice._

"_The attack on Ron hadn't been real, but Miss Emily's was, as was what had happened when I tried to save her. She was currently resting in a hospital room, expected to make a full recovery._

"_And now that I was sure I knew how to topple Yami Marik's reign over Chicago, the main problem I had was finding him. But I was also sure I knew where he was. This was a score that had become personal for me, so I prepared to set out for our showdown."_

Kolchak walked in determination down the hospital corridors, followed by both Tony and Ishizu. Somewhere out there was Yami Marik, ready and waiting for their final confrontation. And at last Kolchak had the solution; Ishizu had confirmed it, but he had already been fairly certain that he was right.

"There's one thing I still don't get," he said as they stopped outside the hospital doors in the chill autumn air. "Well, actually there's a lot of things I still don't get, but first and foremost—Tony, how can you be in as good of condition as you are?" He looked to his editor. "Yami Marik's other victims who are still alive are in comas or the psych ward."

Tony looked away, glaring at the wall. This was a subject he really did not care to get into. But, he supposed, it was information that Kolchak might need to know. Not that he needed any more proof of Yami Marik's evil.

"He shook me up pretty bad, I'll admit that," he said to a tree, his tone gruff. He turned back to face Kolchak. "But it was a lot worse to wake up and see that you didn't know up from down. I thought at first that I was still in a delusion of my own!"

Ishizu nodded. "When you came back to the waiting room and you couldn't see or hear me, I realized that you must be suffering from one of Yami Marik's induced hallucinations," she said. "Then Mr. Vincenzo followed you in, screaming at you to listen to him. He told me that you had been in his room but had not even seemed to realize that he was awake. This confirmed my fears. We followed you from the hospital to the museum, trying and failing to get through to you."

Kolchak shook his head in disbelief. "You were hanging around me all the time since then?" he said.

"For the most part, yeah," Tony said. "We lost track of you a few times."

Kolchak regarded him, amazed. "And you actually believed what Miss Ishtar told you was the explanation, instead of thinking that we were certifiably insane?"

Tony glowered. "Don't think that didn't cross my mind too," he said. "But I came to believe her because I'd been through the same thing."

"I must have been acting completely off-the-wall," Kolchak frowned.

"Oh, you were, trust me," Tony said. "I watched you being pushed to the point of going out of your mind! I screamed and yelled and fought to get you to listen to me, but nothing worked."

Kolchak looked away. "I'm sorry, Tony."

"The blame rests at Yami Marik's feet," Ishizu spoke. "He set it up this way; he wanted to torment both of you. Most likely, that is why Mr. Vincenzo revived with relatively few issues compared to the other victims. Yami Marik wanted him aware enough for something far worse."

"_Why?"_ Kolchak exclaimed, whirling to face her. "His problem was with me. Why did he drag Tony into it?"

"The more people he can torture, Mr. Kolchak, the better." Ishizu met his gaze, her eyes calm yet filled with sadness.

"And I'm going to see that it stops here," Kolchak vowed. Filled with a new burst of determination and righteous anger, he started towards the parking lot.

"Kolchak, you're crazy!" Tony yelled. He headed after the reporter. "You can't go face him again, all by yourself!"

Kolchak grinned. "I won't be alone, Tony. I'll tell you what—I'll go take care of our psychotic creep problem and then I'll come right back here so you won't have to worry."

"I won't be here," Tony retorted. "I'm going home, which is what you should be doing."

"All in good time, Tony. All in good time." Kolchak slid into the yellow convertible, fishing for his keys. "You'll take care of him, won't you, Ishizu?"

She nodded. "If it's possible," she said with a trace of a smile. But she sobered almost immediately. "Mr. Kolchak, please be careful," she implored.

Kolchak waved with one hand while starting the car with the other. Tony and Ishizu stepped aside as he began to back out of the parking space. As he drove towards the exit, Ishizu turned to face Tony.

"May I drive you home, Mr. Vincenzo?" she queried.

"Like heck I'm going home," Tony growled. "I'm following that idiot."

xxxx

The autumn leaves tumbled down the street, blown by the chill breeze, as Kolchak drove past the darkened houses. Just as before, the road appeared completely deserted. But also as before, it was not. Yami Marik was standing silhouetted under the glow from a streetlamp.

"Well, well, so you've come," he sneered. "You figured out that I'd be waiting for you here, where we first met."

Kolchak parked the Mustang and got out. "That's right, I've come," he said. "I never would have pegged you for the sentimental type, Yami Marik."

Yami Marik grinned. "I like memorializing scenes of important torment."

"Oh yeah, this 'torment' obsession you've got. We really have to get you psychological help. I wonder if it would help at all. Somehow I think you're too far gone." Kolchak stood his ground. "I, for one, have had quite enough of your mind games."

"And I haven't had near enough," Yami Marik returned.

Kolchak ignored that. "You know, when Ishizu told me about you I started idly wondering what kind of dark game you were going to play with me," he said. "I thought I'd know when it began and I could tell myself over and over that it was all in my head. Now I've come to see that I didn't have a prayer. You were playing the game with me all along!"

Yami Marik walked forward, flinging his cape back over his shoulder. "And if it weren't for your pesky editor, you still wouldn't know," he said. "Yes, my hold over you was broken once you entered that chapel, but you had no idea of that. And I could have reinstated my control once you left."

"Well, thank goodness for that pesky editor," Kolchak returned. "Tony came through for me, just like he always has when I really need him."

"Oh really?" Yami Marik sneered. "I saw some very interesting things rolling around in your mind when I peeked. You've blamed him for the majority of your problems."

Kolchak flinched. Once again his deepest feelings had been laid bare before a being of the darkest evil. The first time, he had been informed of his thoughts by Robert Palmer, who had made a pact with the devil himself.

"Kolchak!"

Kolchak nearly started out of his mind. He turned with a shocked start, staring in utter disbelief as Tony slammed the door of his car and hurried towards him. "Tony?" He gaped, bewildered. "What are you doing here?"

"Nevermind that!" Tony snapped. "What's happening here?"

"I'll answer that," Yami Marik declared. "Carl and I were just visiting, weren't we, Carl?"

"No," Kolchak retorted. "And don't call me 'Carl.' You haven't earned the right to address me so familiarly."

Yami Marik's expression was worse than the most deranged Halloween mask. "And he has?" he returned, indicating Tony.

"What is this?" Tony yelled. "What does it matter what I call him?"

Kolchak glanced to the bewildered man, anxious to get off the topic Yami Marik was attempting to start. "I thought you were going home," he said. "Didn't Ishizu take you?"

"She offered to take me. So what?" Tony shot back.

"And you didn't accept?" Kolchak blinked. "Why?"

"I'm not that bad off. I can drive. Look, Kolchak, enough about my driving." Tony pointed at Yami Marik. "If you're still thinking that you can beat _that,_ you'd better get moving!"

Yami Marik leered at him. "Maybe _you_ should get moving," he said. "Unless, of course, you want to be here when I completely destroy the reporter who has brought you so much aggravation."

"You already tried that!" Tony snapped. "It didn't work. Why don't you leave him alone?"

"Or maybe I should take you instead," Yami Marik mused. "You wouldn't care, would you, Carl?"

Kolchak stiffened. "You're crazy!" he said. "I don't want anything to happen to him!"

"Even with the blame you place on him for your misfortunes?" Yami Marik smirked.

Tony turned to look at Kolchak with questioning eyes. Kolchak rocked back, momentarily stunned by this new approach. Yami Marik was trying to turn them against each other.

"Now look here," he exclaimed, "my thoughts on Tony Vincenzo—or anyone or anything else, for that matter—are none of your business!" He shot a glance at Tony out of the corner of his eye. "Maybe it's true, I have blamed him. But what do you care? No, nevermind, don't answer that."

Yami Marik responded by sticking out his tongue. "You know that it's really your own fault in the end, too," he said. "Your sensational, unbelievable stories, the fact that the police both hate your guts and think you're insane, and your pathetic existence in general. Tony isn't responsible for any of that. You've built your own coffin and nailed yourself into it!" He burst into hysterical cackles. "I made you come to realize that in my world of delusional reality!"

Tony stared. Every moment that he watched this madman, his disturbed feelings increased. "Kolchak, don't listen to him," he said. "I know you've blamed me. It doesn't matter."

This time Kolchak was not going to take Yami Marik's bait. "Don't worry," he said. "I've heard more than enough of his yakking."

He waved a hand at Yami Marik. "Alright, alright!" he said. "I realized that. But I already knew it anyway. If you've got that out of your system, I'd like to go ahead and rid the world of you now."

Yami Marik pretended not to hear. "Of course," he mused, "Tony's blamed you for his problems, too. Sometimes he wishes he didn't have to deal with you. But in the end he's just a softie." Tony stiffened. Veins popped out across Yami Marik's face. "It's too bad for you that I'm not!"

"It's too bad for everyone that you're not," Kolchak retorted.

Yami Marik paused, his gaze turning thoughtful. "I still don't understand what made you suddenly believe Tony in the church," he said. "You were so wonderfully tainted by my illusions for a while after he came."

Kolchak broke into a grin. "And that," he said, "is now going to be your undoing, Yami Marik. Tony said something that made everything fall into place. He said that no punishment in this world would be good enough for you. And he was right."

Yami Marik frowned, his features twisted in a grotesque manner. "What do you mean?" Suspicion laced his voice.

"It's going to take punishment from a very different place to even get you to leave," Kolchak said. "And without further ado, I'm going to call on that power now. This moment has been dragged out long enough!" He drew a large flashlight out of the car and switched it on, pointed directly at Yami Marik.

The wretch snarled, turning his head away as he tried to shield himself from the light. Nevertheless, he was undeterred. "You failed with that before," he said.

"Only because of two things," Kolchak retorted. "I wasn't in the best of moods that other time. And I didn't fully get what Ishizu was trying to tell me. She said to have faith in the light. But she didn't literally mean faith in this light here." He indicated the flashlight. "This is just a visual aid. I have to drop Someone a line for a little help here."

Dark energy crackled at Yami Marik's fingertips. "You won't have a chance to call upon anything or anyone," he said. "I'll thrust you back into your nightmares and this time you won't have anyone to help you out!" Without warning he blasted.

Tony ran forward. "Carl!" Panic and frustration filled his voice. When was that moron ever going to _learn?_

Kolchak barely dove out of the way in time. He dropped to the street and rolled, still clutching the flashlight. "In the name of God, cease and desist!" he yelled. "You were created from anger and hatred, so that's the only place you belong!"

Yami Marik tried to blast at him again, but nothing happened. The energy had been extinguished. "Shut up!" he roared, shaking his fists. "There's anger and hatred here. Surely you're aware of that. This is a cruel, selfish world, perfect for me to roam wild in!"

Kolchak jumped up and ran as Yami Marik began to pursue him. "You're right," he called back. "But there's other things here too. And you know it! You try to take away everything decent and replace it with more of what's wrong. And it's going to end now."

He looked over at Tony. "Run across the street and into those bushes!" he yelled.

Tony gawked. "What are you talking about, Kolchak?"

"Just do it! And catch these!" Kolchak flung a plastic bag towards his editor, who caught it in utter perplexity. "Set them up wherever you can! Now!"

Suddenly he was gone. Tony stared after him, then down at the bag. "Carl . . . !" he cried. But it was no use. And Yami Marik was turning to come at him. For once following Kolchak's advice, he fled across the street.

Yami Marik strolled after him with deliberate, easy-going steps. "Pathetic," he said. "You're actually going to do whatever it is he wants? You know he's insane. You know he drives you to the same point. And you know you've wished to be rid of him. I'd take care of that for free! And if you join forces with me I could see that you go places. You've already become aware of how I can manipulate situations. I could influence people to make you very powerful indeed."

"I should have my head examined for doing this," Tony said as he ran through the brush, digging through the plastic bag for its contents. With shaking hands he placed them on various branches. "But if I joined up with you I really would be nuts!"

"Anyway," Kolchak spoke up from the other side of the street, "you're too much of a _softie_ to really want anything to happen to me. Right, Tony?"

Tony muttered under his breath. "I'm never going to live that one down," he complained.

"Oh, don't feel bad, Tony," Kolchak said. "Anyway, I think now we're ready to blast this creep away."

"Blast him away?" Tony echoed. "Kolchak, what the heck are we doing?"

Yami Marik gritted his teeth, turning around and around as he searched for the vanishing reporter. Though he had appeared unconcerned at first, now he felt uneasy. "Where did you go?" he demanded. "Come out and face me!" He sneered, but it was forced. "You're a coward! You're running away and leaving Vincenzo to my mercy!"

"Not on your life. Sure, maybe I've blamed Vincenzo for a thing or two, and maybe he frustrates me to no end, but _I'm_ too much of an old softie to want anything to happen to him. Which you already know, Yami Marik!"

Yami Marik snarled.

"You send people to a place called the Shadow Realm," Kolchak said, from somewhere behind him now. Yami Marik whirled, only to still find nothing. His face contorted in rage. "I think that's exactly where you should take up residence."

Several lights came on from all different directions, surrounding and blinding Yami Marik. Kolchak rose from where he had been crouched in his car, turning on the headlights.

"You can survive in the light, even though you hate it," he said, standing in the Mustang. "But you can't stay where a higher power has been invoked. And I'm betting that God isn't that crazy about you hanging around, either. Not only will you cease and desist from further tormenting the good people of Chicago, but you will be bound in the Shadow Realm, where you can't torture anyone anywhere else in the world either!"

Yami Marik let out an inhuman roar of anger. Dark clouds rose from the ground, enveloping him in their midst. When they faded, he was gone.

Kolchak slumped back with a silent, grateful prayer. Sighing in relief, he pressed the button on his remote control. The lights he and Tony had swiftly and sloppily implemented on either side of the street blinked off.

"Kolchak!"

He looked up as Tony emerged from the brush, making his way to the car.

"Tony!" Kolchak called, waving the remote control above his head. "What did you think of that?"

"Nevermind what I thought!" Tony snapped. "What _happened?_"

"Nothing short of a modern-day miracle, Tony," Kolchak proclaimed.

"Where did that thing go?" Tony gestured at the street ahead of them.

"Hopefully someplace where he'll never bother us again," Kolchak said.

"Kolchak, what were you thinking?" Tony roared. "You could have been killed! We _both_ could have been killed!"

"But we weren't," Kolchak replied. His eyes twinkled in understanding. "Tony, you never did go home, did you. You followed me here to check up on me. You were worried!"

"That's ridiculous!" Tony growled. "I took a wrong turn."

"And a convenient one at that." Kolchak crossed his arms. "So, what do you think about my wild stories now?"

"They're still wild stories," Tony said. "Just because something was screwy with this guy doesn't mean that everything you've been telling me is true. As far as I'm concerned, what happened to us was some advanced kind of hypnosis, perfectly scientific."

"Perhaps," Kolchak said. "But as for what happened here, can you explain that away with science too?"

Tony looked away with a defeated mumble.

Kolchak gave a knowing nod. "Tony, I predict that you and I are going to have a long talk."


	8. Epilogue

**Notes: This has certainly been an interesting, different sort of venture. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed or who has read quietly without reviewing! I have more projects in mind for each of these fandoms, so please stay tuned.**

**Epilogue**

Kolchak stepped away from the telephone pole, his tape recorder still in his hand. The street had been perfectly quiet since Yami Marik's banishment, but people would be waking up soon. Kolchak had no intention of being around when they did.

"The police will be relieved to know that Yami Marik's reign of terror is over, although it's highly unlikely that they'll believe how it happened. I can only hope that Yami Marik will stay trapped in the Shadow Realm this time. Ishizu isn't sure how he's managed to escape in the past, which isn't encouraging in the least.

"She says she'll be leaving Chicago soon, moving on to the next city with her exhibit—which includes the staff that started our troubles. However, she intends first of all to detour to Domino City and find out once and for all what's going on there with her brothers. I wonder myself. Hopefully there will be a simple and non-worrisome explanation.

"As she mentioned, she was at the hospital with me a few days ago. It was in the illusion of Yami Marik's that no one remembered her and that I found that she didn't remember being there. I had started to suspect that was the case, but it was good to hear it directly from her."

His eyes narrowed. "I said the terror was over, but that's only partially true. Everyone Yami Marik seemed to have killed, aside from Tony, Updyke, and Miss Ishtar, are really dead. Their loved ones will always feel the pain of the losses he brought about. For them, and for the ones Yami Marik tortured but left alive, it may never be fully over. Yet on the other hand, maybe in time they, too, will be able to begin to heal.

"As for me, it will take a while before I'll be able to really put my experiences behind me. And maybe in some ways I won't. What I went through in my personal game of darkness with Yami Marik brought me to several realizations about myself, both positive and negative. In a bizarre, twisted way, maybe he actually did me some sort of favor. But I don't expect I'll be thanking him any time soon—that is, even if I actually could."

He climbed into the car to finish his notations on the case. "Yami Marik may be one of a kind, but there's still one question that keeps nagging at me. If he could be fashioned from the dark emotions of one particular boy, do all of us have the same potential for creating such great evil? On the other hand, I wonder if we also have the potential to create a counterpart to Yami Marik that would be pure good.

"Either would be imbalanced. I think I prefer how it is with people in this world, where no one is entirely one way or the other."

A trace of a smile passed over his features. "Maybe, after a nice, long rest, I'll have that talk with Vincenzo. And maybe, just maybe, whether Tony will acknowledge it or not, he's gained the slightest hint of belief that something otherworldly has been going on here the last few days." His expression darkened. "Although I can't help feeling that the price Chicago has paid for that possible belief has been too great."

Pressing the Stop button on the tape recorder, Kolchak set it aside and started the engine. The lights had already been loaded back in the car. It was time to go.

"So long, Yami Marik," he said with a mock wave. "So long and good riddance."


End file.
